• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.36 no.7
• /
• pp.1010-1021
• /
• 2023

Objective: Growth performance and growth-related traits have a crucial role in livestock due to their influence on productivity. This genome-wide association study (GWAS) in Pakistani dromedary camels was conducted to identify single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with growth at specific camel ages, and for selected SNPs, to investigate in detail how their effects change with increasing camel age. This is the first GWAS conducted on dromedary camels in this region. Methods: Two Pakistani breeds, Marecha and Lassi, were selected for this study. A genotyping-by-sequencing method was used, and a total of 65,644 SNPs were identified. For GWAS, weight records data with several body weight traits, namely, birthweight, weaning weight, and weights of camels at 1, 2, 4, and 6 years of age were analysed by using model-based growth curve analysis. Age-specific weight data were analysed with a linear mixed model that included fixed effects of SNP genotype as well as sex. Results: Based on the q-value method for false discovery control, for Marecha camels, five SNPs at q<0.01 and 96 at q<0.05 were significantly associated with the weight traits considered, while three (q<0.01) and seven (q<0.05) SNP associations were identified for Lassi camels. Several candidate genes harbouring these SNP were discovered. Conclusion: These results will help to better understand the genetic architecture of growth including how these genes are expressed at different phases of their life. This will serve to lay the foundations for applied breeding programs of camels by allowing the genetic selection of superior animals.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.36 no.7
• /
• pp.1130-1142
• /
• 2023

Objective: Cow urine possesses several bioactive properties but the responsible components behind these bioactivities are still far from identified. In our study, we tried to identify the possible components behind the antimicrobial activity of cow urine by exploring the peptidome and metabolome. Methods: We extracted peptides from the urine of Sahiwal cows belonging to three different physiological states viz heifer, lactation, and pregnant, each group consisting of 10 different animals. The peptides were extracted using the solid phase extraction technique followed by further extraction using ethyl acetate. The antimicrobial activity of the aqueous extract was evaluated against different pathogenic strains like Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Streptococcus agalactiae. The safety of urinary aqueous extract was evaluated by hemolysis and cytotoxicity assay on the BuMEC cell line. The urinary peptides were further fractionated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to identify the fraction(s) containing the antimicrobial activity. The HPLC fractions and ethyl acetate extract were analyzed using nLC-MS/MS for the identification of the peptides and metabolites. Results: A total of three fractions were identified with antimicrobial activity, and nLC-MS/MS analysis of fractions resulted in the identification of 511 sequences. While 46 compounds were identified in the metabolite profiling of organic extract. The urinary aqueous extract showed significant activity against E. coli as compared to S. aureus and S. agalactiae and was relatively safe against mammalian cells. Conclusion: The antimicrobial activity of cow urine is a consequence of the feeding habit. The metabolites of plant origin with several bioactivities are eliminated through urine and are responsible for their antimicrobial nature. Secondly, the plethora of peptides generated from the activity of endogenous proteases on protein shed from different parts of tissues also find their way to urine. Some of these sequences possess antimicrobial activity due to their amino acid composition.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
• /
• v.43 no.3
• /
• pp.16-26
• /
• 2022

Objectives: Traditional Korean medicine (TKM) has been supplied as part of a national health care system in South Korea under a dual medical system, however it has been difficult to mix western medicine and TKM medical practices in existing hospitals. For the objective of innovative integration between them, Comprehensive and Integrative Medicine Hospital were founded in Daegu, South Korea. Here, we discussed the clinical outcomes of cancer patients who received integrative cancer treatment (ICT). Methods: A total of 678 patients previously diagnosed with cancer were retrospectively checked in our institution for 2 years. After applying inclusion/exclusion criteria, 573 patients were eligible for the final analysis. The overall survival (OS) of these patients in the aftercare period were determined. We looked at how clinical factors and treatments including chemotherapy, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and TKM affected the OS. Results: At the first visit, 212 subjects had no evidence of disease after tumor resection and 355 ones with advanced cancer, who receiving ICT including chemotherapy, CAM, and TKM showed better OS compared to the CAM including TKM or the best supportive care (median OS = 216, 78, and 46 days, respectively). The median OS was not reached in TKM only, even though the sample size was small (N=12). Even after adjusting for clinical factors associated to liver, renal, and hematologic manifestation, ICT still remained significant. Conclusions: We demonstrated that ICT might be beneficial for advanced cancer regardless of the performance status, liver and renal function, since it positively affected the OS.

• The Journal of Korea Institute of Information, Electronics, and Communication Technology
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.69-76
• /
• 2023

A high-quality audio/voice codec using the MDCT/IMDCT process can perfectly restore the current frame through an overlap-add process with the previous frame. In the overlap-add process, an algorithm delay equal to the frame length occurs. In this paper, we propose a MDCT/IMDCT process that reduces algorithm delay by using a variable phase shift in MDCT/IMDCT process. In this paper, a low-delay audio/speech codec was proposed by applying the low delay MDCT/IMDCT algorithm to the ITU-T standard codec G.729.1 codec. The algorithm delay in the MDCT/IMDCT process can be reduced from 20 ms to 1.25 ms. The performance of the decoded output signal of the audio/speech codec to which low-delay MDCT/IMDCT is applied is evaluated through the PESQ test, which is an objective quality test method. Despite of the reduction in transmission delay, it was confirmed that there is no difference in sound quality from the conventional method.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
• /
• v.65 no.3
• /
• pp.457-468
• /
• 2022

Objective : The clinical management paradigm of skull base chordomas is still challenging. Surgical resection plays an important role of affecting the prognosis. Endonasal endoscopic approach (EEA) has gradually become the preferred surgical approach in most cases, but traditional transcranial surgery cannot be completely replaced. This study presents a comparison of the results of the two surgical strategies and a summary of the treatment algorithms for skull base chordomas. Methods : We retrospectively analyzed the surgical outcomes and follow-up data of 48 patients with skull base chordomas diagnosed pathologically who received transnasal midline approaches (TMA) and transcranial lateral approaches (TLA) from 2010 to 2020. Results : Among the 48 patients, 36 cases were adopted TMA and 12 cases were performed with TLA. In terms of gross total resection (GTR) rate, 27.8% in TMA and 16.7% in TLA and with EEA alone it was increased to 38.9%, while 29.7% in primary surgery. In TMA, the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak remains the most common complication (13 cases, 36.1%), other main complications included death, cranial nerve palsy, hypopituitarism, all the comparisons were no statistical significance. The Karnofsky Performance Scale scores in TMA were all better than those in TLA at different time, and the overall survival (OS) and recurrence free survival/progression free survival was just the reverse. Conclusion : The EEA for skull base chordomas resection has improved the GTR rate, but transcranial approach is still an alternative approach. It is necessary to select an appropriate surgical approach based on the location and the pattern of tumor growth in order to obtain the best surgical outcomes.

• The korean journal of orthodontics
• /
• v.52 no.2
• /
• pp.112-122
• /
• 2022

Objective: This study aimed to present and evaluate a new deep learning model for determining cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) degree and growth spurts by analyzing lateral cephalometric radiographs. Methods: The study sample included 890 cephalograms. The images were classified into six cervical stages independently by two orthodontists. The images were also categorized into three degrees on the basis of the growth spurt: pre-pubertal, growth spurt, and post-pubertal. Subsequently, the samples were fed to a transfer learning model implemented using the Python programming language and PyTorch library. In the last step, the test set of cephalograms was randomly coded and provided to two new orthodontists in order to compare their diagnosis to the artificial intelligence (AI) model's performance using weighted kappa and Cohen's kappa statistical analyses. Results: The model's validation and test accuracy for the six-class CVM diagnosis were 62.63% and 61.62%, respectively. Moreover, the model's validation and test accuracy for the three-class classification were 75.76% and 82.83%, respectively. Furthermore, substantial agreements were observed between the two orthodontists as well as one of them and the AI model. Conclusions: The newly developed AI model had reasonable accuracy in detecting the CVM stage and high reliability in detecting the pubertal stage. However, its accuracy was still less than that of human observers. With further improvements in data quality, this model should be able to provide practical assistance to practicing dentists in the future.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
• /
• v.86 no.5
• /
• pp.647-661
• /
• 2023

It is recognized that the installation of energy dissipation devices, such as the tuned mass damper (TMD), decreases the dynamic response of structures, however, the best parameters of each device persist hard to determine. Unlike many works that perform only a deterministic optimization, this work proposes a complete methodology to minimize the dynamic response of footbridges by optimizing the parameters of multiple tuned mass dampers (MTMD) taking into account uncertainties present in the parameters of the structure and also of the human excitation. For application purposes, a steel footbridge, based on a real structure, is studied. Three different scenarios for the MTMD are simulated. The proposed robust optimization problem is solved via the Circle-Inspired Optimization Algorithm (CIOA), a novel and efficient metaheuristic algorithm recently developed by the authors. The objective function is to minimize the mean maximum vertical displacement of the footbridge, whereas the design variables are the stiffness and damping constants of the MTMD. The results showed the excellent capacity of the proposed methodology, reducing the mean maximum vertical displacement by more than 36% and in a computational time about 9% less than using a classical genetic algorithm. The results obtained by the proposed methodology are also compared with results obtained through traditional TMD design methods, showing again the best performance of the proposed optimization method. Finally, an analysis of the maximum vertical acceleration showed a reduction of more than 91% for the three scenarios, leading the footbridge to acceleration values below the recommended comfort limits. Hence, the proposed methodology could be employed to optimize MTMD, improving the design of footbridges.

• Composites Research
• /
• v.36 no.2
• /
• pp.117-125
• /
• 2023

This paper proposes a new finite element formulation based on enhanced first-order shear deformation theory including the transverse normal strain effect via the mixed formulation (EFSDTM-TN) for the effective thermo-mechanical analysis of laminated composite structures. The main objective of the EFSDTM-TN is to provide an accurate and efficient solution in describing the thermo-mechanical behavior of laminated composite structures by systematically establishing the relationship between two independent fields (displacement and transverse stress fields) via the mixed formulation. Another key feature is to consider the thermal strain effect without additional unknown variables by introducing a refined transverse displacement field. In the finite element formulation, an eight-node isoparametric plate element is newly developed to implement the advantage of the EFSDTM-TN. Numerical solutions for the thermo-mechanical behavior of laminated composite structures are compared with those available in the open literature to demonstrate the numerical performance of the proposed finite element model.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.36 no.9
• /
• pp.1376-1383
• /
• 2023

Objective: We aimed to determine the effects of 12-oxoeicosatetraenoic acid (12-KETE)-induced placenta release on the performance of mother cows (milk yield, ovarian function, and blood plasma biochemical properties). Methods: Experimental treatments were as follows: i) natural delivery including natural placental release (control cows); ii) induced calf delivery with placental retention (RP cows); and iii) induced calf delivery and 12-KETE-induced placental release (KE cows). Delivery in pregnant KE cows was induced with dexamethasone and prostaglandin. These cows were injected with 12-KETE after calf discharge, resulting in the release of the fetal placenta. RP cows were not treated with 12-KETE after inducing delivery, resulting in placental retention. Results: The milk yield in RP cows during the first 50 days after delivery was significantly lower than that in control cows (p<0.05), whereas KE cows exhibited a similar milk yield to that of control cows. The postpartum plasma progesterone levels of control cows increased 14 days after delivery on average; however, its increase was delayed by 10 days in RP cows. Meanwhile, the 12-KETE treatment (KE cows) brought the timing of progesterone increase forward to the normal level (control cows). Among the 20 biochemical parameters examined, the total cholesterol levels in blood plasma 14 days after delivery were lower in RP cows than that in the other two treatment groups (control cows and KE cows) (p<0.05). In addition, the plasma level of haptoglobin tended to be low in cows that discharged their placentas shortly after delivery. Conclusion: These findings indicate that 12-KETE treatment can alleviate the disorder caused by placental retention.

• Advances in Energy Research
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.95-110
• /
• 2022

Wind energy can be utilized for the generation of electricity, due to significant wind potential at different parts of the world, some countries have already been generating of electricity through wind. Pakistan is still well behind and has not yet made any appreciable effort for the same. The objective of this work was to add some new strategies to calculate Weibull parameters and assess wind energy potential. A new approach calculates Weibull parameters; we also developed an alternate formula to calculate shape parameters instead of the gamma function. We obtained k (shape parameter) and c (scale parameter) for two-parameter Weibull distribution using five statistical methods for five different cities in Pakistan. Maximum likelihood method, Modified Maximum likelihood Method, Method of Moment, Energy Pattern Method, Empirical Method, and have been to calculate and differentiate the values of (shape parameter) k and (scale parameter) c. The performance of these five methods is estimated using the Goodness-of-Fit Test, including root mean square error, mean absolute bias error, mean absolute percentage error, and chi-square error. The daily 10-minute average values of wind speed data (obtained from energydata.info) of different cities of Pakistan for the year 2016 are used to estimate the Weibull parameters. The study finds that Hyderabad city has the largest wind potential than Karachi, Quetta, Lahore, and Peshawar. Hyderabad and Karachi are two possible sites where wind turbines can produce reasonable electricity.