• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• 제12권2호
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• pp.92-104
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• 2023

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of spinal mobilization with leg movement (SMWLM) and neural mobilization (NM) in patients with lumbar disc herniation (LDH) accompanied by radiating pain. Design: Three-group pre-test-post-test control group design. Methods: We enrolled 48 participants, whom we randomly assigned to three groups. The SMWLM group (n=16) underwent 20 min of conventional physical therapy (CT) and 20 min of SMWLM. The NM group (n=16) underwent 20 min of CT and 20 min of NM. The control group (n=16) underwent 20 min of CT. These interventions in all the groups were performed three times a week for 4 weeks. Numeric pain rating score (NPRS), body grid chart score (BGCS), passive straight leg raise (PSLR), active lumbar flexion range of motion (ALFROM), korean version oswestry disability index (KODI), and korean version fear avoidance beliefs questionnaire (KFABQ) were measured pre- and post-intervention. Results: In all three groups, the NPRS, PSLR, KODI, and KFABQ scores were significantly different pre- and post-intervention (p<0.05). Significant differences were observed in BGCS and ALFROM in the SMWLM and NM groups pre- and post-intervention (p<0.05). The SMWLM group showed more improvement in the NPRS of leg pain, ALFROM, and KFABQ score than that exhibited by the NM and control groups (p<0.05). Conclusions: Both SMWLM and NM were effective for improving back and leg pain, centralization of symptoms, mechanical sensitivity, lumbar mobility, lumbar functional disability, and psychosocial functioning in patients with LDH with radiating pain.

• Computers and Concrete
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• 제32권2호
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• pp.119-138
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• 2023

Concrete carbonation is a prevalent phenomenon that leads to steel reinforcement corrosion in reinforced concrete (RC) structures, thereby decreasing their service life as well as durability. The process of carbonation results in a lower pH level of concrete, resulting in an acidic environment with a pH value below 12. This acidic environment initiates and accelerates the corrosion of steel reinforcement in concrete, rendering it more susceptible to damage and ultimately weakening the overall structural integrity of the RC system. Lower pH values might cause damage to the protective coating of steel, also known as the passive film, thus speeding up the process of corrosion. It is essential to estimate the carbonation factor to reduce the deterioration in concrete structures. A lot of work has gone into developing a carbonation model that is precise and efficient that takes both internal and external factors into account. This study presents an ML-based adaptive-neuro fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) approach to predict the carbonation depth of fly ash (FA)-based concrete structures. Cement content, FA, water-cement ratio, relative humidity, duration, and CO2 level have been used as input parameters to develop the ANFIS model. Six performance indices have been used for finding the accuracy of the developed model and two analytical models. The outcome of the ANFIS model has also been compared with the other models used in this study. The prediction results show that the ANFIS model outperforms analytical models with R-value, MAE, RMSE, and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency index values of 0.9951, 0.7255 mm, 1.2346 mm, and 0.9957, respectively. Surface plots and sensitivity analysis have also been performed to identify the repercussion of individual features on the carbonation depth of FA-based concrete structures. The developed ANFIS-based model is simple, easy to use, and cost-effective with good accuracy as compared to existing models.

• 한국작물학회:학술대회논문집
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• 한국작물학회 2022년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.18-18
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• 2022

Barley has been used for the production of malt in the brewing industry. Malting is the process of preparing barley through partial germination. Malt extract is the most important quality parameter for malt quality. The grain and malt quality parameters of ten Korean malting barley varieties were studied. Malts was prepared using Phoeix automated micro malting system(Phoenix Bio, Australia). Quality analysis of Barley and malt was determined according to European brewery convention(EBC, 1998) and American society of brewing chemists(ASBC, 1997) method. And the hordeins of barley and malt were extracted with 50% isopropyl alcohol(IPA, 2-propanol) of 1% dithiothreitol(DTT). The analysis of hordeins was carried out by ultra-performance liquid chromatography(UPLC). The mean values of 1000-grains weight, assortment rate, protein content, starch content, beta-glucan content, husk rate, germination energy, germination capacity and water sensitivity of grain were 45.8g, 86.8%, 11.9%, 58.0%, 3.8%, 14.0%, 96.2%, 97.2%, 10.0%, respectively. The mean values of protein content, friability, diastatic power, extract, soluble protein, Kolbach index, beta-glucan of malt and wort were 11.3%, 87.6%, 201WK(Windish Kolbach), 79.3%, 4.6%, 41%, 85mg/L, respectively. UPLC analysis of grain and malt hordeins revealed that the amount of hordeins significantly degraded during malting. Also, we could successfully be used to compare hordein polypeptide patterns with malt quality.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제33권9호
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• pp.1179-1188
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• 2023

Escherichia coli, particularly multidrug-resistant (MDR) strains, is a serious cause of healthcare-associated infections. Development of novel antimicrobial agents or restoration of drug efficiency is required to treat MDR bacteria, and the use of natural products to solve this problem is promising. We investigated the antimicrobial activity of dried green coffee (DGC) beans, coffee pulp (CP), and arabica leaf (AL) crude extracts against 28 isolated MDR E. coli strains and restoration of ampicillin (AMP) efficiency with a combination test. DGC, CP, and AL extracts were effective against all 28 strains, with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 12.5-50 mg/ml and minimum bactericidal concentration of 25-100 mg/ml. The CP-AMP combination was more effective than CP or AMP alone, with a fractional inhibitory concentration index value of 0.01. In the combination, the MIC of CP was 0.2 mg/ml (compared to 25 mg/ml of CP alone) and that of AMP was 0.1 mg/ml (compared to 50 mg/ml of AMP alone), or a 125-fold and 500-fold reduction, respectively, against 13-drug resistant MDR E. coli strains. Time-kill kinetics showed that the bactericidal effect of the CP-AMP combination occurred within 3 h through disruption of membrane permeability and biofilm eradication, as verified by scanning electron microscopy. This is the first report indicating that CP-AMP combination therapy could be employed to treat MDR E. coli by repurposing AMP.

• 문화기술의 융합
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• 제9권6호
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• pp.257-262
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• 2023

마케팅 정책의 하나로 일부 공급자는 소매상에게 공급하는 제품에 대한 수요 증대를 기대하면서 일정 기간의 신용 거래를 허용한다. 신용 거래에 의한 제품 대금에 대한 지불 유예의 기회는 소매상의 재고 투자 비용을 절감시키는 효과를 가져 오게 되고, 결과적으로 구매자의 수요 증대를 기대하면서 소매상의 판매 가격을 결정 하게 된다. 본 연구는 공급자, 소매상 그리고 구매자로 구성되는 신용 거래 공급망에서 구매자의 수요가 소매상의 판매 가격에 지수적으로 감소하는 함수라는 가정 하에 소매상의 판매가격과 주문 로트 크기(EOQ: Economic Order Quantity)를 결정하는 재고 모형을 분석하고자 한다. 문제 분석을 위하여 공급하는 제품은 시간의 경과에 따라 변질되는 퇴화성 제품의 경우를 포함하고, 신용 거래 기간과 가격탄력지수 그리고 퇴화의 정도가 소매상의 판매 가격과 주문 로트 크기에 미치는 영향을 분석 해 보고자 한다.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• 제23권8호
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• pp.821-827
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• 2022

Objective: To determine the anatomical characteristics of the petrous ridge and trigeminal nerve in trigeminal neuralgia (TN) without neurovascular compression (NVC). Materials and Methods: From May 2017 to March 2021, 66 patients (49 female and 17 male; mean age ± standard deviation [SD], 56.8 ± 13.3 years) with TN without NVC and 57 controls (46 female and 11 male; 52.0 ± 15.6 years) were enrolled. The angle of the petrous ridge (APR) and angle of the trigeminal nerve (ATN) were measured using magnetic resonance imaging with a high-resolution three-dimensional T2 sequence. Data on the symptomatic side were compared with those on the asymptomatic side in patients and with the mean measurements of the bilateral sides in controls. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was conducted to evaluate the performance of APR and ATN in distinguishing TN patients from controls. Results: In TN patients without NVC, the mean ± standard deviation (SD) of APR on the symptomatic side (98.40° ± 19.75°) was significantly smaller than that of the asymptomatic side (105.59° ± 22.45°, p = 0.019) and controls (108.44° ± 15.98°, p = 0.003). The mean ATN ± SD on the symptomatic side (144.41° ± 8.92°) was significantly smaller than that of the asymptomatic side (149.67° ± 8.09°, p = 0.003) and controls (150.45° ± 8.48°, p = 0.001). The area under the ROC curve for distinguishing TN patients from controls was 0.673 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.579-0.758) for APR and 0.700 (CI: 0.607-0.782) for ATN. The sensitivity and specificity using the diagnostic cutoff yielding the highest Youden index were 81.8% (54/66) and 49.1% (28/57), respectively, for APR (with a cutoff score of 94.30°) and 65.2% (43/66) and 66.7% (38/57), respectively, for ATN (cutoff score, 148.25°). Conclusion: In patients with TN without NVC, APR and ATN were smaller than those in controls, which may explain the potential cause of TN and provide additional information for diagnosis.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.176-185
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• 2024

Purpose: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is common among children in Bangladesh. Its management depends mainly on risk stratification. This study aimed to assess the severity of pediatric AP using computed tomography (CT). Methods: This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted in pediatric patients with AP at the Department of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition, BSMMU, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Results: Altogether, 25 patients with AP were included, of whom 18 (mean age, 10.27±4.0 years) were diagnosed with mild AP, and 7 (mean age, 10.54±4.0 years) with severe AP. Abdominal pain was present in all the patients, and vomiting was present in 88% of the patients. Etiology was not determined. No significant differences in serum lipase, serum amylase, BUN, and CRP levels were observed between the mild and severe AP groups. Total and platelet counts as well as hemoglobin, hematocrit, serum creatinine, random blood sugar, and serum alanine aminotransferase levels (p>0.05) were significantly higher in the mild AP group than in the severe AP group (p=0.001). The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of CT severity index (CTSI) were 71.4%, 72.2%, 50%, and 86.7%, respectively. In addition, significant differences in pancreatic appearance and necrosis were observed between the two groups on CT. Conclusion: CT can be used to assess the severity of AP. In the present study, the CTSI effectively assessed the severity of AP in pediatric patients.

• Advances in materials Research
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• 제13권1호
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• pp.63-86
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• 2024

Asphalt concrete (AC), is a mixture of bitumen and aggregates, which is very sensitive in the design of flexible pavement. In this study, the Marshall stability of the glass and carbon fiber bituminous concrete was predicted by using Artificial Neural Network (ANN), Support Vector Machine (SVM), Random Forest (RF), and M5P Tree machine learning algorithms. To predict the Marshall stability, nine inputs parameters i.e., Bitumen, Glass and Carbon fibers mixed in 100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75, 0:100 percentage (designated as 100GF:0CF, 75GF:25CF, 50GF:50 CF, 25GF:75CF, 0GF:100CF), Bitumen grade (VG), Fiber length (FL), and Fiber diameter (FD) were utilized from the experimental and literary data. Seven statistical indices i.e., coefficient of correlation (CC), mean absolute error (MAE), root mean squared error (RMSE), relative absolute error (RAE), root relative squared error (RRSE), Scattering index (SI), and BIAS were applied to assess the effectiveness of the developed models. According to the performance evaluation results, Artificial neural network (ANN) was outperforming among other models with CC values as 0.9147 and 0.8648, MAE values as 1.3757 and 1.978, RMSE values as 1.843 and 2.6951, RAE values as 39.88 and 49.31, RRSE values as 40.62 and 50.50, SI values as 0.1379 and 0.2027 and BIAS value as -0.1 290 and -0.2357 in training and testing stage respectively. The Taylor diagram (testing stage) also confirmed that the ANN-based model outperforms the other models. Results of sensitivity analysis showed that the fiber length is the most influential in all nine input parameters whereas the fiber combination of 25GF:75CF was the most effective among all the fiber mixes in Marshall stability.

• Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.236-245
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• 2024

Purpose: The prevalence of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is increasing with the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity. Although NASH has a high risk of progression to liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, few studies have reported noninvasive markers for predicting hepatic fibrosis in children. This study aimed to evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracies of serologic biomarkers and scoring systems for hepatic fibrosis in obese children with NASH. Methods: A total of 96 children were diagnosed with NASH based on liver biopsy findings and divided into two groups according to the degree of liver fibrosis: mild (stage 0-1) or advanced (stage 2-4). Clinical and laboratory parameters and serum levels of hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen were measured. The aspartate aminotransferase/platelet ratio index (APRI) and fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) score were calculated. Results: Among the noninvasive markers, only serum type IV collagen level and FIB-4 were significantly different between the two groups. The area under the receiver operating curve of each biomarker and scoring system was 0.80 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.70-0.90) for type IV collagen at an optimal cutoff of 148 ng/mL (sensitivity 69.8%, specificity 84.6%), followed by 0.69 (95% CI: 0.57-0.83) for APRI, 0.68 (95% CI: 0.56-0.80) for FIB-4, and 0.65 (95% CI: 0.53-0.77) for hyaluronic acid. Conclusion: Type IV collagen as a single noninvasive serologic biomarker for hepatic fibrosis and FIB-4 as a hepatic fibrosis score are beneficial in predicting advanced hepatic fibrosis and determining proper diagnosis and treatment strategies before fibrosis progresses in obese children with NASH.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제34권7호
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• pp.1530-1543
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• 2024

With an increase in the commercialization of bioplastics, the importance of screening for plastic-degrading strains and microbes has emerged. Conventional methods for screening such strains are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Therefore, we suggest a method for quickly and effectively screening plastic-degrading microbial strains through dual esterase assays for soil and isolated strains, using p-nitrophenyl alkanoates as substrates. To select microbe-abundant soil, the total amount of phospholipid fatty acids (PLFAs) included in each soil sample was analyzed, and esterase assays were performed for each soil sample to compare the esterase activity of each soil. In addition, by analyzing the correlation coefficients and sensitivity between the amount of PLFAs and the degree of esterase activity according to the substrate, it was confirmed that substrate pNP-C2 is the most useful index for soil containing several microbes having esterase activity. In addition, esterase assays of the isolated strains allowed us to select the most active strain as the degrading strain, and 16S rRNA results confirmed that it was Bacillus sp. N04 showed the highest degradation activity for polybutylene succinate (PBS) as measured in liquid culture for 7 days, with a degradation yield of 99%. Furthermore, Bacillus sp. N04 showed degradation activity against various bioplastics. We propose the dual application of p-nitrophenyl alkanoates as an efficient method to first select the appropriate soil and then to screen for plastic-degrading strains in it, and conclude that pNP-C2 in particular, is a useful indicator.