• Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.180-187
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• 2023

BACKGROUND: Two-dimensional (2D) transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is commonly used for assessing patients undergoing transcatheter atrial septal defect (ASD) device closure. 3D TEE, albeit providing high resolution en-face images of ASD, is used in only a fraction of cases. We aimed to perform a comparative analysis between 3D and 2D TEE assessment for ASD device planning. METHODS: This was a prospective, observational study conducted over a period of one year. Patients deemed suitable for device closure underwent 2D and 3D TEE at baseline. Defect characteristics, assessed separately in both modalities, were compared. Using regression analysis, we aimed to derive an equation for predicting device size using 3D TEE parameters. RESULTS: Thirty patients were included in the study, majority being females (83%). The mean age of the study population was 40.5 ± 12.05 years. Chest pain, dyspnea and palpitations were the common presenting complaints. All patients had suitable rims on 2D TEE. A good agreement was noted between 2D and 3D TEE for measured ASD diameters. 3D TEE showed that majority of defects were circular in shape (60%). The final device size used had high degree of correlation with 3D defect area and circumference. An equation was devised to predict device size using 3D defect area and circumference. The mean device size obtained from the equation was similar to the actual device size used in the study population (p = 0.31). CONCLUSIONS: Device sizing based on 3D TEE parameters alone is equally effective for transcatheter ASD closure as compared to 2D TEE.

• Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.21-42
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• 2015

This paper investigates whether urban expansion and the vitalization of the local economy can be achieved through new city development. The results show that regardless of the starting point (origin) or destination point, traffic increases closer to the origin for the purpose of transportation and decreases farther from the origin. However, traffic tends to increase in districts 20 to 40 km away from the origin. Hence, building a new city in this district may be effective in terms of geography and functionality.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.507-518
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• 2022

This study aimed to measure the monetary and non-monetary effects on brand awareness at hypermarkets in Riyadh. The independent variable consists of three sub-variables: price reductions, free samples, and purchasing vouchers. The research population has all Saudi and non-Saudi buyers in Riyadh. The figures show that the population size reached 3.87 million in 2019. The proportional stratification sampling technique and the recommended sample size were 387 buyers. The five-point Likert scale with the fully structured questionnaire was used. The study concldes the effect of free samples on brand awareness while there was no effect of monetary instruments. The results show that the three sales promotion incentives (price reduction, free samples, and purchasing vouchers) moderately affected brand awareness and a key role in explaining consumer behavior, so the significant impact was proved. In summary, this study showed that price reductions have the power of creating the perception of buyers at hypermarkets in Riyadh. Non-cash instruments were more effective than cash instruments in enhancing brand awareness at the hypermarkets in the Saudi market. So, the price reductions and purchasing vouchers have less power in conducting communication-based awareness. Building awareness and improving brand image through free samples were most visible in communication strategy.

• Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity
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• v.28 no.4
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• pp.279-290
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• 2012

Plecoglossus altivelis (ayu) is an amphidromous fish widely distributed in Northeastern Asia from the East China Sea to the northern Japanese coastal waters, encompassing the Korean Peninsula within its range. The shore lines of northeastern region in Asia have severely fluctuated following glaciations in the Quaternary. In the present study, we investigate the population genetic structure and historical demographic change of P. altivelis at a population level in East Asia. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) based on 244 mitochondrial control region DNA sequences clearly showed that as the sampling scope extended to a larger geographic area, genetic differentiation began to become significant, particularly among Northeastern populations. A series of hierarchical AMOVA could detect the genetic relationship of three closely located islands between Korea and Japan that might have been tightly connected by the regional Tsushima current. Neutrality and mismatch distribution analyses revealed a strong signature of a recent population expansion of P. altivelis in East Asia, estimated at 126 to 391 thousand years ago during the late Pleistocene. Therefore it suggests that the present population of P. altivelis traces back to its approximate demographic change long before the last glacial maximum. This contrasts our a priori expectation that the most recent glacial event might have the most crucial effect on the present day demography of marine organisms through bottleneck and subsequent increase of effective population size in this region.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.5
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• pp.633-637
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• 2007

Genetic variation in Nilagiri sheep, the only apparel wool breed in South India was studied using 25 FAO recommended ovine-specific microsatellite markers. The number of observed alleles ranged from 3 to 8 with a mean of 5 across all loci. The size of alleles ranged from 72 to 228 bp. The frequency of alleles ranged from 0.0104 to 0.5781. In total, 125 alleles were observed at the 25 loci studied. The effective number of alleles ranged from 2.18 to 6.49. The mean number of effective alleles was 3.84 across all loci. All the 25 loci were found to be highly polymorphic. The PIC values ranged from 0.4587 to 0.8277 with a mean of 0.6485. Of 25 microsatellites studied, 17 were in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium proportions. The observed heterozygosity ranged from 0.4222 to 1.000 with a mean value of 0.7610 whereas the expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.5415 to 0.8459 with a mean value of 0.7213. Except six loci, the other loci revealed negative within-population inbreeding estimates (FIS) indicating excess of heterozygotes in the population of Nilagiri sheep.

• Research in Community and Public Health Nursing
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.113-122
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• 2009

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to explore the effect of aromatherapy on anxiety, depression, and stress. Methods:Medical and nursing literature databases were searched to identify studies comparing aromatherapy with a control group. Results: Thirty-one studies published till September 2008 were included in the analysis. Twenty-two studies showed that aromatherapy generally had positive effects on the anxiety level (ES: 0.61). Thirteen studies showed that aromatherapy has significantly decreased the depression level (ES: 0.91). Seven studies showed that aromatherapy had positive effect on the stress level (ES: 0.78). Further analysis found that aromatherapy was more effective for normal population than for patients group with anxiety and stress. On the contrary, aromatherapy was more effective for patients group than for general population with depression. Conclusion: Aromatherapy had positive effect on anxiety, depression and stress level. But there was no sufficient evidence to show the two different aromatherapy methods and two different period of aromatherapy had different effects due to small sample size and heterogeneity of sample. And it was needed to perform follow-up and further comparative studies.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.7
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• pp.1105-1115
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• 2021

Objective: To conserve and utilize the genetic resources of a traditional Chinese indigenous pig breed, Liangshan pig, we assessed the genetic diversity, genetic structure, and genetic distance in this study. Methods: We used 50K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip for SNP detection of 139 individuals in the Liangshan Pig Conservation Farm. Results: The genetically closed conserved population consisted of five overlapping generations, and the total effective content of the population (Ne) was 15. The whole population was divided into five boar families and one non-boar family. Among them, the effective size of each generation subpopulation continuously decreased. However, the proportion of polymorphic markers (P_N) first decreased and then increased. The average genetic distance of these 139 Liangshan pigs was 0.2823±0.0259, and the average genetic distance of the 14 boars was 0.2723±0.0384. Thus, it can be deduced that the genetic distance changed from generation to generation. In the conserved population, 983 runs of homozygosity (ROH) were detected, and the majority of ROH (80%) were within 100 Mb. The inbreeding coefficient calculated based on ROH showed an average value of 0.026 for the whole population. In addition, the inbreeding coefficient of each generation subpopulation initially increased and then decreased. In the pedigree of the whole conserved population, the error rate of paternal information was more than 11.35% while the maternal information was more than 2.13%. Conclusion: This molecular study of the population genetic structure of Liangshan pig showed loss of genetic diversity during the closed cross-generation reproduction process. It is necessary to improve the mating plan or introduce new outside blood to ensure long-term preservation of Liangshan pig.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.1363-1367
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• 2005

A pedigree file of 4,738 records of a purebred flock of Muzaffarnagari sheep, maintained at Central Institute for Research on Goats (CIRG), Makhdoom, for a period of 24 years (1978 to 2001) was used to calculate inbreeding coefficients. The lambtraits studied were birth, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months weights as well as 6 and 12 months fleece yields. The lambs' and ewes' inbreeding coefficients ranged from 0 to 26.4% and 0 to 25%, respectively. The average inbreeding coefficient of lambs was higher than that of ewes in all periods as expected in a closed flock. Fluctuations in lamb and ewe inbreeding were observed in the periods under study. The percentages of animals in the higher inbred categories varied somewhat but generally were relatively constant. The mean rate of inbreeding was 0.63% per generation. The effective population size of the flock was 79.1. On average, an increase of 1% individual inbreeding significantly (p<0.05) reduced weights at birth by 0.010 kg, at 3 month by 0.048 kg, at 6 month by 0.075 kg, at 9 month by 0.129 kg and at 12 month by 0.112 kg. Ewes' inbreeding had non-significant effects on body weight at all ages. Effects of both lambs' and ewes' inbreeding had negative but non-significant effects on fleece weights at 6 and 12 months of age. Thus, inbreeding depression in lambs significantly reduced body weights from birth to 12 months of age but had a negligible effect on fleece yields.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.37 no.4
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• pp.591-599
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• 2024

Objective: Sumba Ongole (SO) cattle are valuable breed due to their important role in the development of Indonesian cattle. Despite rapid advances in molecular technology, no genomic studies on SO cattle have been conducted to date. The aim of this study is to provide genomic profile related to the population diversity, admixture, and demographic trends of SO cattle. Methods: Genomic information was gathered from 79 SO cattle using the Illumina Bovine SNP50 v3 Beadchip, and for comparative purposes, additional genotypes from 209 cattle populations worldwide were included. The expected and observed heterozygosity, inbreeding coefficient, pairwise fixation indices between-population, and Nei's genetic distance were examined. Multidimensional scaling, admixture, and treemix analyses were used to investigate the population structure. Based on linkage disequilibrium and effective population size calculations, the demographic trend was observed. Results: The findings indicated that the genetic diversity of SO cattle was similar to that of other indicine breeds. SO cattle were genetically related to indicines but not to taurines or Bali cattle. The study further confirmed the close relationship between SO, Ongole, and Nellore cattle. Additionally, a small portion of the Ongole mixture were identified dominant in the SO population at the moment. The study also discovered that SO and Bali cattle (Bos javanicus) could have been ancestors in the development of Ongole Grade cattle, which corresponds to the documented history of Ongolization. Our finding indicate that SO cattle have maintained stability and possess unique traits separate from their ancestors. Conclusion: In conclusion, the genetic diversity of the SO cattle has been conserved as a result of the growing significance of the present demographic trend. Consistent endeavors are necessary to uphold the fitness of the breed.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.523-530
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• 2008

In this study, the species composition and population genetic properties of the sea slater, Ligia, in South Korea were investigated using mitochondrial and nuclear gene sequences. Two groups of sea slaters, genetically isolated from each other, a Western Group (WG) and an Eastern Group (EG) were identified. These groups exhibited considerable genetic divergence from Ligia exotica, previously recorded as a species inhabiting this country. These results indicate that there may be two species of Ligia in South Korea, but there is a small probability that both groups are L. exotica. A comparison of their genetic properties indicates that WG has a higher effective population size than EG, and that EG may have experienced a recent expansion, implying that it has a shorter history in South Korea than WG. These findings suggest that the South Korean sea slater populations may have been established as a result of several colonization events that can be traced on a continental scale by phylogeographic studies of sea slaters.