• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.25 no.9
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• pp.1410-1416
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• 2015

Wolbachia is an obligate symbiotic bacteria that is ubiquitous in arthropods, with 25-70% of insect species estimated to be infected. Wolbachia species can interact with their insect hosts in a mutualistic or parasitic manner. Sequence types (ST) of Wolbachia are determined by multilocus sequence typing (MLST) of housekeeping genes. However, there are some limitations to MLST with respect to the generation of clone libraries and the Sanger sequencing method when a host is infected with multiple STs of Wolbachia. To assess the feasibility of massive parallel sequencing, also known as next-generation sequencing, we used pyrosequencing for sequence typing of Wolbachia in butterflies. We collected three species of butterflies (Eurema hecabe, Eurema laeta, and Tongeia fischeri) common to Korea and screened them for Wolbachia STs. We found that T. fischeri was infected with a single ST of Wolbachia, ST41. In contrast, E. hecabe and E. laeta were each infected with two STs of Wolbachia, ST41 and ST40. Our results clearly demonstrate that pyrosequencing-based MLST has a higher sensitivity than cloning and Sanger sequencing methods for the detection of minor alleles. Considering the high prevalence of infection with multiple Wolbachia STs, next-generation sequencing with improved analysis would assist with scaling up approaches to Wolbachia MLST.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2739-2745
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• 2014

Background: Health-related quality of life (HRQL) is a fundamental outcome in oncology patients and quality of life (QOL) assessment requires clinically relevant questionnaires. The purpose of this study was translation and definition of measurement properties and the clinical validity of Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)-OG25 module in Persian patients with oesophagus, oesophagogastric junction (OGJ) or gastric cancers. Materials and Methods: The translation procedure followed European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) guidelines. Both EORTC QLQ-OG25 and a core questionnaire (EORTC QLQ-C30) were administered to patients with oesophagus (150), OG junction (93) and gastric (32) cancer undergoing multi-modal treatments. Convergent and discriminant validity, Cronbach's alpha coefficient and known-groups comparisons were used to examine reliability and validity. Results: In all, 275 patients (mean age 62 years) completed both questionnaires. Compliance rate was high and the questionnaire module was well accepted. We found good reliability for multi-item subscales of QLQ-OG25 (Cronbach's alpha coefficients 0.76-0.89). About 73% had TNM staging and scales distinguished between clinically distinct groups of patients. However, patients in palliative group experienced compromised functional status and worse treatment-associated symptoms than those in the potentially curative group. Test-retest scores were consistent. Multi-trait scaling analysis demonstrated good convergent and discriminant validity. Conclusions: Overall, the Persian version of QLQ-OG25 demonstrated psychometric and clinical validity that supports its application as a supplement to the original tool (EORTC QLQ-C30) when assessing HRQL in patients with upper-gastrointestinal (GI) cancer both in curative and palliative phases.

• Journal of Korea Multimedia Society
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.1180-1188
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• 2013

Interpolation or super-resolution is used in order to restore degradation of image quality that appears after various transform of image. The method on subjective or objective image resolution improvement having low computation complexity has been being researched in many different ways. In this paper, image enhancement method using improved self degradation restoration(ISDR) method is proposed. The proposed method uses ISDR to estimate pixel value of missed coordinate in the process of image scaling, and combines the estimated loss information and interpolated image to generate enhanced result image. The proposed method shows that PSNR increases by 1.8dB, and subjective image quality is superior to other compared methods. The proposed method can be applied as a basis technique in variety of applications which requires image scale transform.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.323-331
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• 2006

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of performing a cognitive task during treadmill walking on the stride rate variability. Ten university students(age $24.0{\pm}0.25$, height $172{\pm}3.1cm$, weight $66{\pm}5.3kg$) were participated in dual task experiments which consist of both walking alone and walking with a cognitive task. Two-back task was selected for the cognitive task since it did not have learning effect during the experimental procedure.3D motion analysis system was used to measure subject's position data by changing walking speed with 4.8, 5.6, 6.4, 6.8, and 7.2 km/hr. Stride rate was calculated by the time between heel contact and heel contact. Accuracy rate of a cognitive task during walking, coefficient of variance, allometric scaling methods and Fano factor were used to estimated the stride rate variability. As the walking speed increased, accuracy rate decreased and the logarithmic value of Fano factor increased which showed the statistical difference. Thus it can be concluded that the gait control mechanism is distracted by the secondary attention focus which is the cognitive task ie. two-back task. Further study is needed to clarify this by increasing the number of subject and experiment time.

• International Journal of Highway Engineering
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.19-25
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• 2018

PURPOSES : This purpose of this study is to analyze the effect to autogenous shrinkage of the top-layer material of a two-lift concrete pavement mixing both silica fume and polymer powder. METHODS : The bottom-layer of a two-lift concrete pavement was paved with original portland cement (OPC) with a 20~23 cm thickness. Additionally, the top-layer which is directly exposed to the environment and vehicles was paved with a high-performance concrete (HPC) with a 7~10 cm thickness. These types of pavements can achieve a long service life by reducing joint damage and increasing the abrasion and scaling resistance. In order to integrate the different bottom and top layer materials, autogenous shrinkage tests were performed in this study according to the mixing ratio of silica fume and polymer powder, which are the admixture of the top-layer material. RESULTS : Autogenous shrinkage decreased when polymer powder was used in the mix. Contrary to this, autogenous shrinkage tended to rise with increasing silica fume content. However, the effects were not significant when small amounts of polymer powder were used (3% and 11%). CONCLUSIONS : The durability and compressive strength increase when silica fume is used in the mix. The flexural strength considerably increases and autogenous shrinkage of concrete decreases when polymer powder is used in the mix. As seen from above, the proper use of these materials improves not only durability, but also autogenous shrinkage, leading to better shrinkage crack control in the concrete.

• Journal of Korean Society on Water Environment
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.164-172
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• 2018

This study aims to determine the community patterns of benthic macroinvertebrates and analyze the relationship between the communities and the water quality in the Pungyeongjeong Stream. We collected the samples four times by season. The number of species was 28 and the dominant species were Cheumatopsyche brevilineata, Hydropsyche kozhantschikovi, Baetis fuscatus, Chironomidae spp., and so on. The range of the dominant index was 0.54 to 0.93 and the mean was 0.77. The range of the diversity index was 0.94 to 2.54, and of the mean index it was 1.75. The ratio of filtering-collectors and clingers got lower, but the ratio of gathering-collectors and sprawlers got higher as collection progressed from the upper stream to the lower stream. The results of the Pearson correlation analysis showed COD, SS, TOC and total coliforms were highly related with biotic indices of benthic macroinvertebrates. The results of cluster analysis and non-metric multidimensional scaling ordination showed that the survey sites and periods were divided into three groups. The survey sites were divided into upper stream and middle-lower stream. The survey periods were divided into winter season and other seasons. Distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates showed some characteristics according to various influence factors; however long-term and regular investigations were thought to need analysis and prediction with various statistical methods.

• Korean Journal of Adult Nursing
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.614-623
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• 2007

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among knowledge, attitudes, and the use of negative control maintenance techniques toward older adults among nurses working in geriatric hospitals (n=86). Methods: Data were collected from April 4th to May 30th in 2006 by using questionnaires of Fact on Aging Quiz Part I, Aging Semantic Differential Scaling, and Control Maintenance Techniques. Results: The findings showed that the nurses displayed lack of knowledge concerning older adults and their average rate of correct answer was 45.6%. They also hold some negative bias and attitudes, especially in psychological and social aspects. The level of using negative control maintenance techniques in managing older patients' problematic behaviors was reported as the mean of 5.65 with a possible range of 0-40. Nurse's knowledge of older adults was positively associated with their attitudes toward older adults, but their knowledge and attitudes were not associated with the use of negative control maintenance techniques. Conclusion: It is necessary to provide educational programs for nurses that focus on a comprehensive understanding of aging with lifetime developmental perspectives. Further studies are needed to understand the factors associated with using negative control maintenance techniques and to evaluate the intervention programs in reducing the use of negative control maintenance techniques.

• Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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• v.39 no.6
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• pp.492-504
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• 2013

Objectives: This analysis seeks to evaluate the impact of environmental health factors (EHF; e.g. hospital beds per capita, employees of medical institutions) on extreme-heat vulnerability assessment in Busan Metropolitan City during 2006-2010. Methods: According to the vulnerability concept suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), extreme-heat vulnerability is comprised of the categories of Exposure, Sensitivity, and Adaptive Capacity (including EHF). The indexes of the Exposure and Sensitivity categories indicate positive effects, while the Adaptive capacity index indicates a negative effect on extreme-heat vulnerability. Variables of each category were standardized by the re-scaling method, and then each regional relative vulnerability was computed with the vulnerability index calculation formula. Results: The extreme-heat vulnerability index (EVI) excepting EHF was much higher in urban areas than in suburban areas within the metropolitan area. When EHF was considered, the difference in the EVI between the two areas was reduced due to the increase of the Adaptive capacity index in urban areas. The low EVI in suburban areas was induced by a dominant effect of natural environmental factors (e.g. green area) within the Adaptive capacity category. Conclusions: To reduce the vulnerability to extreme heat in urban areas, which were more frequently exposed to extreme heat than others areas, public health and natural environments need to be improved in sensitive areas.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.71-78
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• 2014

Purpose: Host modulatory therapy has been proposed as a treatment for periodontal diseases. A class of herbal medicines, known to be immunomodulators, alters the activity of immune function through the regulation of informational molecules such as cytokines. In the current study, we tested the hypothesis that herbal immunomodulator drugs act as an adjuvant to scaling and root planing (SRP) in alleviating periodontal inflammation by improving clinical and biochemical parameters. Methods: Sixty healthy subjects (30 in each group) with moderate and severe chronic periodontitis were enrolled in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, double-masked randomised controlled trial. The control group was treated with SRP and a placebo, whereas the test group was treated with SRP followed by dietary supplementation of Septilin for 3 weeks. Periodontal clinical parameters and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were evaluated for all patients at the baseline, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks. Results: Improved gingival index scores found in the test group as compared to the control group were found to be statistically significant only after 3 weeks (P<0.001). In contrast, the decrease in the sulcus bleeding index and pocket depth scores was statistically highly significant in the test group as compared to the control group after 3 weeks and 6 weeks (P<0.001). However, reduced clinical attachment level and CRP scores, as reflected in the test group as compared to the control group, were not found to be statistically significant after both 3 weeks (P>0.05) and 6 weeks (P>0.05). Conclusions: The results of this clinical-biochemical study suggest that dietary supplementation with herbal immunomodulatory agents may be a promising adjunct to SRP and may aid in improving periodontal treatment outcomes.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• v.44 no.1
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• pp.25-32
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• 2014

Purpose: Periodontitis is an infectious disease caused predominantly by gram-negative anerobes. The host inflammatory response to these bacteria causes alveolar bone loss that is characterized as periodontitis. Omega-3 fatty acids (${\omega}$-3 FAs) have anti-inflammatory properties, thus have been used to treat some chronic inflammatory diseases such as cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis. We aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with ${\omega}$-3 FAs as a host modulating agent in patients with chronic periodontitis. Methods: Sixty otherwise healthy subjects with moderate and severe chronic periodontitis were enrolled in our randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. The control group (CG, n=30) was treated with scaling and root planing (SRP) and given a placebo; the treatment group (TG, n=30) was treated with SRP and dietary supplementation of ${\omega}$-3 FAs (one 300 mg tablet daily for 12 weeks). Periodontal clinical parameters and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were evaluated in all patients at baseline, a 6-week and 12-week period after treatment. Results: A significant reduction in the gingival index, sulcus bleeding index, pocket depth, and clinical attachment level was found in the TG compared to the CG at a 12-week period. However, no statistically significant changes in serum CRP levels were found. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that ${\omega}$-3 FAs can successfully reduce gingival inflammation, pocket depth, and attachment level gain. Dietary supplementation with ${\omega}$-3 FAs may have potential benefits as a host modulatory agent in the prevention and/or C management of chronic periodontitis.