• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3335-3340
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• 2016

Background: Oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) is a precancerous condition with a 4 to13% malignant transformation rate. Related to the habit of areca nut chewing it is mainly prevalent in South-east Asian countries where the habit of betel quid chewing is frequently practised. On chewing, alkaloids and polyphenols are released which undergo nitrosation and give rise to N-nitrosamines which are cytotoxic agents. CYP450 is a microsomal enzyme group which metabolizes various endogenous and exogenous chemicals including those released by areca nut chewing. CYP1A1 plays a central role in metabolic activation of these xenobiotics, whereas CYP2E1 metabolizes nitrosamines and tannins. Polymorphisms in genes that code for these enzymes may alter their expression or function and may therefore affect an individuals susceptibility regarding OSF and oral cancer. The present study was therefore undertaken to investigate the association of polymorphisms in CYP1A1 m2 and CYP2E1 (RsaI/PstI) sites with risk of OSF among areca nut chewers in the Northern India population. A total of 95 histopathologically confirmed cases of OSF with history of areca nut chewing not less than 1 year and 80, age and sex matched controls without any clinical signs and symptoms of OSF with areca nut chewing habit not less than 1 year were enrolled. DNA was extracted from peripheral blood samples and polymorphisms were analyzed by PCR-RFLP method. Gene polymorphism of CYP1A1 at NcoI site was observed to be significantly higher (p = 0.016) in cases of OSF when compared to controls. Association of CYP1A1 gene polymorphism at NcoI site and the risk of OSF (Odd's Ratio = 2.275) was also observed to be significant. However, no such association was observed for the CYP2E1 gene polymorphism (Odd's Ratio = 0.815). Our results suggest that the CYP1A1 gene polymorphism at the NcoI site confers an increased risk for OSF.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.3101-3103
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• 2016

Background: According to the most recent estimation of GLOBOCAN, Cambodia has the highest incidence and mortality rate of cervical cancer in Southeast Asia. A screen-and-treat strategy using visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA test) and cryotherapy has been implemented in Cambodia's national cervical cancer screening program since 2013. However, where resources are available, cervical cytology with or without high-risk HPV DNA testing is the preferred screening method used in this country. Aim: This study aims to calculate the prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology and explain the possible factors contributing to a reduced quality of cervical cytology among women participating in a hospital-based cervical cancer screening program in Cambodia. Materials and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted using information from the cytology and pathology database in the Department of Pathology of Calmette Hospital between January 2012 and December 2015. Prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology, based on the Bethesda 2001 classification, was calculated. Data on the adequacy of cytological specimens were analyzed in order to explain the factors contributing to a reduced quality of cervical cytology interpretation. Results: Among 6,207 women who participated in the cervical cancer screening program at Calmette Hospital during 2012 and 2015, 388 (6.25%) had abnormal cytology, which could be classified into Atypical Squamous Cells of Undetermined Significance (92 cases; 1.48%), Atypical Squamous Cells - Cannot Exclude High-Grade Intraepithelial Lesion (13 cases; 0.21%), Atypical Glandular Cells (11 cases; 0.18%), Low-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (221 cases; 3.56%), High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesion (26 cases; 0.42%), and Squamous Cell Carcinoma (25 cases; 0.40%). Unsatisfactory smears made up 12.2% of the total cases. The most frequently identified factor leading to unsatisfactory smears was the absence of cells from the transformation zone. Conclusions: The present study showed an overall prevalence of abnormal cervical cytology of 6.25%, which is comparable to that in many large population-based studies in the Asia Pacific region. Nevertheless, the remarkably high rate of unsatisfactory smears in this study justifies further improvement in specimen sampling among Cambodian gynecologists.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.41 no.8
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• pp.807-823
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• 2008

This paper presents a technique for estimating discharge rating curve parameters. In typical practical applications, the original non-linear rating curve is transformed into a simple linear regression model by log-transforming the measurement without examining the effect of log transformation. The model of pseudo-likelihood estimation is developed in this study to deal with heteroscedasticity of residuals in the original non-linear model. The parameters of rating curves and variance functions of errors are simultaneously estimated by the pseudo-likelihood estimation(P-LE) method. Simulated annealing, a global optimization technique, is adapted to minimize the log likelihood of the weighted residuals. The P-LE model was then applied to a hypothetical site where stage-discharge data were generated by incorporating various errors. Results of the P-LE model show reduced error values and narrower confidence intervals than those of the common log-transform linear least squares(LT-LR) model. Also, the limit of water levels for segmentation of discharge rating curve is estimated in the process of P-LE using the Heaviside function. Finally, model performance of the conventional log-transformed linear regression and the developed model, P-LE are computed and compared. After statistical simulation, the developed method is then applied to the real data sets from 5 gauge stations in the Geum River basin. It can be suggested that this developed strategy is applied to real sites to successfully determine weights taking into account error distributions from the observed discharge data.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.149-157
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• 1991

In order to elucidate the possible change in the non-extractable bound residue of TCAB(3,3' 4,4' - tetrachloroazobenzene) in soil as a function of aging period, uniformly ring-labelled $^{14}C-TCAB$ was treated to soil(organic matter : 1.8%), and aged for 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 months at $21{\pm}1^{\circ}C$, respectively. $^{14}CO_2$ evolution and volatilization loss during the aging were negligible. The amounts of non-extractable bound residue of TCAB increased gradually from 7.55% in 3-month aging to 19.32% in 15-month aging. Partition data suggested no formation of polar groups in the chemical structure of TCAB. Most of $^{14}C-radioactivity$ of bound residues was present in humin in the range of 50.52 to 58.93%. The fact that the number of microorganisms in soil decreased relative to the control suggested no chance of their involvement in the formation of non-extractable bound residues. Accordingly, the increase in the non-extractable bound residue of TCAB in soil with aging period is believed to be due to the transformation of the trans isomer to the cis one which is more polar and more adsorptive than the former.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.7
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• pp.655-663
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• 2017

With the development of ICT technology, the indoor utilization of robots is increasing. Research on transportation, cleaning, guidance robots, etc., that can be used now or increase the scope of future use will be advanced. To facilitate the use of mobile robots in indoor spaces, the problem of self-location recognition is an important research area to be addressed. If an unexpected collision occurs during the motion of a mobile robot, the position of the mobile robot deviates from the initially planned navigation path. In this case, the mobile robot needs a robust controller that enables the mobile robot to accurately navigate toward the goal. This research tries to address the issues related to self-location of the mobile robot. A robust position recognition system was implemented; the system estimates the position of the mobile robot using a combination of encoder information of the mobile robot and the absolute space coordinate transformation information obtained from external video sources such as a large number of CCTVs installed in the room. Furthermore, vector field histogram method of the pass traveling algorithm of the mobile robot system was applied, and the results of the research were confirmed after conducting experiments.

• The Korean Journal of Zoology
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.49-55
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• 1988

A few SV4O-transformed human cells such as SV8O are potentially tumorigenic but rejected by athymic hosts. However, one cell line in this group (W118IVA-2) is known to be fully tumorigenic. Two clones were obtained after the injection of W118IVA-2, of which NW1SC1-1 was tumorigenic but NW18C1-2 was not in nude mice. As examined by Southern blot analysis, NW18C1-1 appears to contain more copy number of SV40 sequences than NW18C1-2 does. However, it was unable to demonstrate that this difference elicits the tumorigenicity in NW18C1-1 but not in NW18C1-2. Therefore, the latter clone was tested if it expresses SV40 early genes to produce large T as well as small t antigens using indirect immunofluorescent assay and immunoprecipitation. In addition, mouse NIH3T3 cells were transfected with the cellular DNA of NW1SC1-2 as well as that of NW18C1-1 to examine if the viral genomes in the clones can make the nontransformed cells to acquire malignant growth potential in vivo. The transformed cells expressed large T antigen and became tumorigenic. Thus, the transforming functions of NW1SC1-2 cell appers to be intact. These results clearly suggest that the inability of NW18C1-2 cell to form tumor in nude mice is not because they are inherently nontumorigenic. However, the possibility that the interaction of SV40 with its host differs in these clones can not he ruled out.

• Journal of Haehwa Medicine
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.335-336
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• 1996

Artemisinin, a new antimalarial to treat patients infected with strains of Plasmodium jalciparum, derived from the plant Artemisia annua Linn, has immunopharmacologic actions such as enhence the PHA -induced lymphocyte transformation rate, increased the weight of spleen but reduced the weight of thymus, reduced phagocytic function of peritoneal macrophage, remarkably reduced the level of serum IgG and hemolysin fonning capacity (sentitized with SRBC), inhibited the activity of Ts cells of donor mice by supraoptimal immunuization(SOI), but enhenced activity of Ts cells of recipient mice by SOI. These results suggested that Ts cells may be the target cells of artemisinin. To the serum complement C3 level of plasmodium berghei-infeted mice, artemisinin (i. m,) could remarkly increase it. The artemisinin also obviously reduced the prostaglandin E(PGE) in the mouse hind paw swelling induced by carrageenin. Numerous studies have demonstrated that pharmacologic doses of PGE attenuate the development of immunocomplex nephritis. Some autologous immune mechanisms may be invoolved In the pathogensis of some types of glomurulonephritis. Glomerular abnormalities can be induced in animals by variety of immunological manipulations. The resulting disorder has many clinical and pathogical similarities to the disease in human. Our purpose was therefore to test the ability of the artemisinin to lessen the severity of rabbit IgG accelerated nephrotoxic serum glomerulonephritis in mice model. Mice which had treated with rabbit IgG and NTS, administrated with saline, showed Significant inceases of urinary protein, cholesterol level, and decrease of serum albumin in NS group. On the contrary, By i.g. adminstration of artemisinin at dose of 12.5, 25 and 50 mg/kg for 14 days after NTS injection, shown that artemisinin inhibited the nephritic changes in some parameters by means of urinary protein(p<0.05, p<0.01) and serum choleterol(p<0.05, p<0.01) and albumin (p<0.05, p<0.01), blood urea nitrogen (p<0.05, p<0.01), serum albumin(p<0.05, p<0.01); Cyclophosphamide(i.p. 10mg/kg for 14d) had almost same effect as the artemisinin had. Morphological studies shown that The picture of kidney from the mouse with NTS-nephritis accerated with rabbit IgG, treated with i.g. saline as the control, the mesangiocapillary were enlarged and proliferated; There were inflammatory cells infiltrating around the glomeruli; The ethelial cell were proliferated in the wall of Bowman's capsule. Histopatholological picture of kidney from the NTS-nephritis accerated with rabbit IgG mouse treated with i.p. 10mg/kg cyclophosphamide as the positive control. No siginicant histopathological evidence were found. Treaded with i.p. 12.5mg/kg artemisinine, the picture shown that mesangiocapillary were lightly proliferated; There were inflammatory cells infiltrating around the glomeruli; Treaded with i.p. 25mg/kg artemisinine, The picture shown that the mesangiocapillary were lightly proliferated; Treaded with i.p. 50mg/kg artemisinine, The picture shown that both the mesangiocapillary proliferated and the inflammatory cells infiltrating around the glomeruli are less than treated with saline, 12.5 and 25 mg/kg artemisinine. On the basis of these studies we conclude that the artemisinin can relieve pathological change caused by NTS-nephritis aacerated with rabbit IgG.

• Journal of the Korean association of regional geographers
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.803-819
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• 2009

This study explores of the lowest social class segregation in the residential area of Yao city of the Osaka Prefecture. The Buraku people, who constitute a social class that was the object of societal discrimination and exclusion since the beginning of modem times, formed a segregated residential area of their own. During the process of an organized struggle against discrimination that was institutionally recognized, communal consciousness among the constituents was consolidated. Moreover, in the Yao city, Korean immigrants in Japan, another discriminated group, as well as Vietnamese refugees and Chinese, who are also social minorities, increased in number. Also, activities by the Buraku people and Korean immigrants in Japan to defend human rights and the rights of social minorities began to unfold. Recently, the number of small scale factories in the Buraku's Douwa District decreased due to relocation of manufacturing companies elsewhere throughout Japan and to the effects of depression. New non-Buraku houses began to appear one by one on the site where factories started to disappear. While the spatial separatism of Yao city, as part of the isolated Douwa District, is weakening, the struggle based on communal consciousness among the social minorities and continued human rights activity is exerting great influence upon the administrative policy of Yao city. In the case of Yao city, while the visual appearance of spatial segregation is weakening, the communal consciousness among the regional residents remains. From this perspective, it can be said that this case represents a modified form of isolated space or the social pattern of segregation which is in the stage of extinction.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.88-93
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• 2001

The thermal behavior and the crystallographic characteristics of an epitaxial $C49-TiSi_2$ island formed in a Si (001) substrate by $N_2$, treatment were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). It was found from the analyzed results that the epitaxial $C49-TiSi_2$ was thermally stable even at high temperature of $1000^{\circ}C$ therefore did not transform into the C54-stable phase and did not deform morphologically. HRTEM results clearly showed that the epitaxial $TiSi_2$ phase and Si have the orientation relationship of (060)[001]$TiSi_2$//(002)[110]Si, and the lattice strain energy at the interface was mostly relaxed by the formation of misfit dislocations. Furthermore, the mechanism on the formation of the epitaxial $_C49-TiSi2$ in Si and stacking faults lying on the (020) plane of the C49 Phase were discussed through the analysis of the HRTEM image and the atomic modeling.

• Molecules and Cells
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.323-330
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• 2007

The mature wheat embryo is arguably one of the best explants for genetic transformation because of its unlimited availability and lack of growth season restriction. However, an efficient regeneration system using mature wheat embryos (Triticum aestivum L.) is still not available. To identify genes related to the tissue culture response (TCR) of wheat, QTLs for callus induction from mature embryos and callus regeneration were mapped using an RIL population derived from the cross of 'Wangshuibai' with 'Nanda2419', which has a good TCR. By whole genome scanning we identified five, four and four chromosome regions conditioning, respectively, percent embryos forming a callus (PEFC), percent calli regenerating plantlets (PCRP), and number of plantlets per regenerating callus (NPRC). The major QTLs QPefc.nau-2A and QPcrp.nau-2A were mapped to the long arm of chromosome 2A, explaining up to 22.8% and 17.6% of the respective phenotypic variance. Moreover, two major QTLs for NPRC were detected on chromosomes 2D and 5D; these together explained 51.6% of the phenotypic variance. We found that chromosomes 2A, 2D, 5A, 5B and 5D were associated via different intervals with at least two of the three TCR indexes used. Based on this study and other reports, the TCRs of different explant types of wheat may be under the control of shared or tightly linked genes, while different genes or gene combinations may govern the stages from callus induction to plantlet regeneration. The importance of group 2 and 5 chromosomes in controlling the TCRs of Triticeae crops and the likely conservation of the corresponding genes in cereals are discussed.