• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제13권3호
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• pp.927-930
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• 2012

Background and Objectives: Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are flexible and nonlinear models which can be used by clinical oncologists in medical research as decision making tools. This study aimed to predict distant metastasis (DM) of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients using an ANN model. Methods: The data of this study were gathered from 1219 registered CRC patients at the Research Center for Gastroenterology and Liver Disease of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran (January 2002 and October 2007). For prediction of DM in CRC patients, neural network (NN) and logistic regression (LR) models were used. Then, the concordance index (C index) and the area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) were used for comparison of neural network and logistic regression models. Data analysis was performed with R 2.14.1 software. Results: The C indices of ANN and LR models for colon cancer data were calculated to be 0.812 and 0.779, respectively. Based on testing dataset, the AUROC for ANN and LR models were 0.82 and 0.77, respectively. This means that the accuracy of ANN prediction was better than for LR prediction. Conclusion: The ANN model is a suitable method for predicting DM and in that case is suggested as a good classifier that usefulness to treatment goals.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제14권5호
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• pp.3051-3056
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• 2013

Background: Genetic aberrations of DNA repair enzymes are known to be common events associated with different cancer entities. The aim of the present study was to analyze genetic associations of rs1805404 (Asp81Asp) and rs1805414 (Ala284Ala) in the PARP1 gene with the risk of breast cancer in Saudi Arabia. Materials and Methods: These two SNP's were analyzed in a primary study group of breast cancer patients and healthy control subjects. Genotypes were determined by TaqMan SNP testing and analyzed using Chi-square or t test and logistic regression analysis with SPSS16.0 software. Results and Conclusions: Results showed that rs1805414 was associated with a significantly increased susceptibility to breast cancer, significant risk being observed for the TC, CC and TC+CC genotypes. In conclusion PARP1 rs1805414 SNP polymorphisms may be involved in the etiology of breast cancer in the Saudi population. In contrast, PARP1 rs1805404 did not show any significant association in overall in breast cancer samples when compared to healthy controls. Confirmation of our findings in larger populations of different ethnicities may provide evidence for a role of the PARP1 gene in breast carcinoma developnment.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• 제15권14호
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• pp.5565-5570
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• 2014

Objectives: This study aimed to characterize the histopathological pattern of thyroid lesions among Saudi patients and to highlight the age and gender variations of these lesions as base line data. Materials and Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the data from thyroid specimens received at the Department of Pathology, King Fahad Hospital, Madinah, Saudi Arabia from January 2006 to December 2013. Results: The 292 thyroidectomy specimens received during the study period came from 230 (78.8%) females and 62 (21.2%) males giving a female: male ratio of 3.7:1. Age of the patients ranged from 14 to 95 years with a mean age 39.7 years. Two hundred and eleven (72.3%) cases were found to be non-neoplastic and 81 (27.7%) cases were neoplastic. The non-neoplastic group included: colloid goiter, including both diffuse and nodular goiter (170 cases; 58.2%), nodular hyperplasia (28 cases; 9.6%), Hashimoto/chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis (12 cases; 4.1%), and Grave's disease (1 case; 0.3%). In neoplastic lesions, there were 7 benign tumors and 74 malignant tumors. Among the benign tumors, 5 were follicular adenomas and 2 were Hurthle cell adenomas. Papillary carcinoma was the commonest malignant tumor accounting for 87.8% of all thyroid malignancies, followed by lymphoma, follicular carcinoma and medullary carcinoma. The size of papillary carcinoma was more than 2 cm in 40 cases (76.9%). Conclusions: Non-neoplastic thyroid lesions were more common than neoplastic ones. Colloid goiter was the most common lesion. Follicular adenoma was the commonest benign tumor and papillary carcinoma was the commonest malignant lesion. There appears to be a slightly increased trend of papillary carcinoma diagnosis, most being diagnosed at an advanced stage.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• 제63권2호
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• pp.34-43
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• 2020

Phenylketonuria is a disease caused by congenital defects in phenylalanine metabolism that leads to irreversible nerve cell damage. However, its detection in the early days of life can reduce its severity. Thus, many countries have started disease screening programs for neonates. The present study aimed to determine the worldwide prevalence of classic phenylketonuria using the data of neonatal screening studies.The PubMed, Web of Sciences, Sciences Direct, ProQuest, and Scopus databases were searched for related articles. Article quality was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal Evaluation Checklist. A random effect was used to calculate the pooled prevalence, and a phenylketonuria prevalence per 100,000 neonates was reported. A total of 53 studies with 119,152,905 participants conducted in 1964-2017 were included in this systematic review. The highest prevalence (38.13) was reported in Turkey, while the lowest (0.3) in Thailand. A total of 46 studies were entered into the meta-analysis for pooled prevalence estimation. The overall worldwide prevalence of the disease is 6.002 per 100,000 neonates (95% confidence interval, 5.07-6.93). The meta-regression test showed high heterogeneity in the worldwide disease prevalence (I²=99%). Heterogeneity in the worldwide prevalence of phenylketonuria is high, possibly due to differences in factors affecting the disease, such as consanguineous marriages and genetic reserves in different countries, study performance, diagnostic tests, cutoff points, and sample size.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제32권1호
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• pp.47-52
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• 2016

Cotton leaf curl is devastating disease of cotton characterized by leaf curling, vein darkening and enations. The disease symptoms are induced by DNA satellite known as Cotton leaf curl Multan betasatellite (CLCuMuB), dominant betasatellite in cotton but another betasatellite known as Chili leaf curl betasatellite (ChLCB) is also found associated with the disease. Grafting experiment was performed to determine if host plant resistance is determinant of dominant population of betasatellite in cotton (several distinct strains of CLCuMuB are associated with the disease). Infected scion of Gossypium hirsutum collected from field (the source) was grafted on G. arboreum, a diploid cotton species, resistant to the disease. A healthy scion of G. hirsutum (sink) was grafted at the top of G. arboreum to determine the movement of virus/betasatellite to upper susceptible scion of G. hirsutum. Symptoms of disease appeared in the upper scion and presence of virus/betasatellite in the upper scion was confirmed via molecular techniques, showing that virus/betasatellite was able to move to upper scion through resistant G. arboreum. However, no symptoms appeared on G. arboreum. Betasatelites were cloned and sequenced from lower scion, upper scion and G. arboreum which show that the lower scion contained both CLCuMuB and ChLCB, however only ChLCB was found in G. arboreum. The upper scion contained CLCuMuB with a deletion of 78 nucleotides (nt) in the non-coding region between Arich sequence and ${\beta}C1$ gene and insertion of 27 nt in the middle of ${\beta}C1$ ORF. This study may help in investigating molecular basis of resistance in G. arboreum.

• The Journal of Asian Finance, Economics and Business
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• 제7권11호
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• pp.367-379
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• 2020

The primary objective of this research is to develop a better understanding of consumer's post-purchase psychological state by examining the influence of sales promotion and emotional brand attachment on post-purchase cognitive dissonance, taking into account the mediating role of impulse buying behavior. The current study addresses several gaps in literature. Firstly, it is hard to find the direct impact of sales promotion and emotional brand attachment on post-purchase cognitive dissonance. Secondly, to the best of our knowledge, few studies have investigated the mediating role of impulse buying behavior in consumer research. A sample of 256 respondents was collected from Pakistani retail consumers. The statistical findings of this study show that sales promotion has a significant positive effect on the impulse buying behavior and post-purchase cognitive dissonance. Furthermore, results indicate that emotional brand attachment has a negative influence on impulse buying behavior but has a significant positive impact on post-purchase cognitive dissonance. Meanwhile, impulse buying behavior is a potential mediator between sales promotion, emotional brand attachment, and post-purchase cognitive dissonance relationships. The moderating role of Gender describes that the positive relationship between sales promotion and post-purchase cognitive dissonance will be stronger for women as compared to men at a higher level of sales promotion.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• 제39권2호
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• pp.241-266
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• 2011

The Self Compacting Concrete, SCC is the new generation type of concrete which is not needed to be compacted by vibrator and it will be compacted by its own weight. Since SCC is a new innovation and also the high strength self compacting concrete, HSSCC behavior is like a brittle material, therefore, understanding the strength effect on the serviceability performance of reinforced self compacting concretes is critical. For this aim, first the normal and high strength self compacting concrete, NSSCC and HSSCC was designed. Then, the serviceability performance of reinforced connections consisting of NSSCC and HSSCC were investigated. Twelve reinforced concrete connections (L = 3 m, b = 0.15 m, h = 0.3 m) were simulated, by this concretes, the maximum and minimum reinforcement ratios ${\rho}$ and ${\rho}^{\prime}$ (percentage of tensile and compressive steel reinforcement) are in accordance with the provision of the ACI-05 for conventional RC structures. This study was limited to the case of bending without axial load, utilizing simple connections loaded at mid span through a stub (b = 0.15 m, h = 0.3 m, L = 0.3 m) to simulate a beam-column connection. During the test, concrete and steel strains, deflections and crack widths were measured at different locations along each member. Based on the experimental readings and observations, the cracked moment of inertia ($I_{cr}$) of members was determined and the results were compared with some selective theoretical methods. Also, the flexural crack widths of the members were measured and the applicability for conventional vibrated concrete, as for ACI, BS and CSA code, was verified for SCCs members tested. A comparison between two Codes (ACI and CSA) for the theoretical values cracking moment is indicate that, irrespective of the concrete strength, for the specimens reported, the prediction values of two codes are almost equale. The experimental cracked moment of inertia $(I_{cr})_{\exp}$ is lower than its theoretical $(I_{cr})_{th}$ values, and therefore theoretically it is overestimated. Also, a general conclusion is that, by increasing the percentage of ${\rho}$, the value of $I_{cr}$ is increased.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• 제47권1호
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• pp.34-41
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• 2020

Objective: The strong antioxidant activity of Commiphora mukul prompted us to conduct the present study to explore whether treatment with C. mukul extract (CME) would have any protective influence on sperm parameters, testosterone levels, and plasma glucose levels in streptozotocin (STZ)-induced diabetic rats. Methods: Male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups: control, control animals treated with CME, diabetic animals, and diabetic animals treated with CME. CME extract (300 mg/kg) was administered for 60 days by daily gavage. Diabetes was induced by an intraperitoneal injection of 50 mg/kg STZ. The epididymal sperm count, weight, motility, morphology, viability, and serum testosterone and glucose levels were determined. Results: In the diabetic animals, CME decreased blood glucose levels (p< 0.05), increased the total sperm count (p< 0.05), and decreased the proportion of sperm with abnormal morphology (p< 0.05). Diabetes reduced sperm motility (p< 0.001), and CME supplementation partially reversed this effect of diabetes (p= 0.003). Furthermore, in diabetic animals, CME decreased the proportion of immotile sperm (p< 0.001). In rats, diabetes caused a significant decrease (p< 0.05) in serum testosterone levels (F[3, 28] = 3.283, p= 0.035), but treatment of diabetic animals with CME increased serum testosterone levels. Conclusion: The present study demonstrated that C. mukul possesses proandrogenic activity and exerts a beneficial effect on sperm parameters in diabetic rats.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.67-71
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• 2017

Background: Job stress and job satisfaction are important factors affecting workforce productivity. This study was carried out to investigate the job stress, job satisfaction, and workforce productivity levels, to examine the effects of job stress and job satisfaction on workforce productivity, and to identify factors associated with productivity decrement among employees of an Iranian petrochemical industry. Methods: In this study, 125 randomly selected employees of an Iranian petrochemical company participated. The data were collected using the demographic questionnaire, Osipow occupational stress questionnaire to investigate the level of job stress, Job Descriptive Index to examine job satisfaction, and Hersey and Goldsmith questionnaire to investigate productivity in the study population. Results: The levels of employees' perceived job stress and job satisfaction were moderate-high and moderate, respectively. Also, their productivity was evaluated as moderate. Although the relationship between job stress and productivity indices was not statistically significant, the positive correlation between job satisfaction and productivity indices was statistically significant. The regression modeling demonstrated that productivity was significantly associated with shift schedule, the second and the third dimensions of job stress (role insufficiency and role ambiguity), and the second dimension of job satisfaction (supervision). Conclusion: Corrective measures are necessary to improve the shift work system. "Role insufficiency" and "role ambiguity" should be improved and supervisor support must be increased to reduce job stress and increase job satisfaction and productivity.

• Steel and Composite Structures
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• 제25권1호
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• pp.105-116
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• 2017

This paper presents the dynamic stability study of laminated composite plates with different force combinations and aspect ratios. Optimum non-diverging stacking is obtained for certain loading combination and aspect ratio. In addition, the stability force is maximized for a definite operating frequency. A dynamic version of the principle of virtual work for laminated composites is used to obtain force-frequency relation. Since dynamic stiffness governs the divergence or flutter, an efficient optimization method is necessary for the response functional and the relevant constraints. In this way, a model based on the ant colony optimization (ACO) algorithm is proposed to search for the proper stacking. The ACO algorithm is used since it treats with large number of dynamic stability parameters. Governing equations are formulated using classic laminate theory (CLT) and von-Karman plate technique. Load-frequency relations are explicitly obtained for fundamental and secondary flutter modes of simply supported composite plate with arbitrary aspect ratio, stacking and boundary load, which are used in optimization process. Obtained results are compared with the finite element method results for validity and accuracy convince. Results revealed that the optimum stacking with stable dynamic response and maximum critical load is in angle-ply mode with almost near-unidirectional fiber orientations for fundamental flutter mode. In addition, short plates behave better than long plates in combined axial-shear load case regarding stable oscillation. The interaction of uniaxial and shear forces intensifies the instability in long plates than short ones which needs low-angle layup orientations to provide required dynamic stiffness. However, a combination of angle-ply and cross-ply stacking with a near-square aspect ratio is appropriate for the composite plate regarding secondary flutter mode.