• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.107-116
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• 2023

This article reviews the experience of applying the Identification, Diagnosis, Prospective, and Action (IDPA) facilitating method as a means of promoting practices of dialogue between stakeholders in the radiological protection field. After presenting the characteristics of the IDPA method and its ability to promote active listening, participation, and dialogue among stakeholders facing complex situations, as well as the procedural aspects associated with its practical implementation, the article describes three examples of the application of the method in the field of radiological protection. The first one presents how the IDPA method supported a debate among decision-makers, authorities, experts, professionals, and representatives of non-governmental organizations about how to engage stakeholders in radiological protection. The second example presents how the IDPA method was used in a series of dialogue meetings to explore the challenges of the post-nuclear accident situation resulting from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. The third one presents the application of the method in the context of a training course organized by Nagasaki University in the affected area close to the damaged plant. Experience has shown that the IDPA method makes it possible to develop responses to problems posed in very different contexts and, in many cases, to find compromises regarding their solutions. The IDPA method has the merit of allowing each of the participants to better understand the situation they are faced with, even if such a positive result is not always achieved.

• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.571-584
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• 2024

To identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs), researchers use a testing method for each gene. However, microarray data are often characterized by large dimensionality and a small sample size, which lead to problems such as reduced analytical power and increased number of tests. Therefore, we propose a clustering method. In this method, genes with similar expression patterns are clustered, and tests are conducted for each cluster. This method increased the sample size for each test and reduced the number of tests. In this case, we used a nonparametric permutation test in the proposed method because independence between samples cannot be assumed if there is a relationship between genes. We compared the accuracy of the proposed method with that of conventional methods. In the simulations, each method was applied to the data generated under a positive correlation between genes, and the area under the curve, power, and type-one error were calculated. The results show that the proposed method outperforms the conventional method in all cases under the simulated conditions. We also found that when independence between samples cannot be assumed, the non-parametric permutation test controls the type-one error better than the t-test.

• International conference on construction engineering and project management
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• 2024.07a
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• pp.1019-1026
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• 2024

In the construction industry, there is a growing demand for improving productivity, and development of autonomous operation systems for construction machinery is progressing. Autonomous operation of construction machinery requires positioning information because construction must be carried out at planned locations. In this paper, we focused on Visual Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (Visual SLAM) as a method for obtaining location information for construction machinery and proposed an automated operation system using Visual SLAM. For automated driving, the indirect method based on ORB features is used in Visual SLAM, and processes such as mask processing for surrounding moving objects and measurement of initial positions using markers are performed. With the proposed system, it was confirmed that it is possible to perform automated operation in an experimental environment using the location information output by Visual SLAM. In addition, the experiment was conducted to verify the measurement accuracy when using Visual SLAM during construction work at actual construction sites. As a result, the measurement accuracy was less than 500 mm, which is a usable accuracy for actual construction. By using this system, it is possible to obtain the location information of construction machinery even in environments where GNSS cannot be used, and productivity at construction sites can be improved by performing automated operation.

• Tribology and Lubricants
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• v.23 no.6
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• pp.288-297
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• 2007

Adhesion and friction tests were carried out in order to investigate the effect of temperature on the tribological characteristics of poly (methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) film using AFM. The pull-off and friction forces on the PMMA film were measured under a high vacuum condition (below $1{\times}10^{-4}$ Pa) as the temperature of the PMMA film was increased from 300 K to 420 K (heating) and decreased to 300K (cooling). Friction tests were also conducted in both high vacuum and air conditions at room temperature. When the temperature was 420 K, which is 25 K higher than the glass transition temperature $(T_g)$ of PMMA, the PMMA film surface became deformable. Subsequently, the pull-off force was proportional to the maximum applied load during the pull-off force measurement. In contrast, when the temperature was under 395 K, the pull-off force showed no correlation to the maximum applied load. The friction force began to increase when the temperature rose above 370 K, which is 25 K lower than the $T_g$ of PMMA, and rapidly increased at 420 K. Decrease of the PMMA film stiffness and plastic deformation of the PMMA film were observed at 420 K in force-displacement curves. After the heating to 420 K, the fiction coefficient was measured under the air condition at room temperature and was found to be lower than that measured before the heating. Additionally, the RMS roughness increased as a result of the heating.

• Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.28-35
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• 2012

Purpose: This study was done to evaluate the effects of a short-term life review on spiritual well-being, depression, and anxiety in patients with terminal cancer. Methods: The study used a pre posttest quasi experimental design with a nonequivalent control group. Measurement instruments included the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Spiritual scale (FACIT-Sp12) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Participants were 32 patients with terminal cancer who were receiving chemotherapy or palliative care at hospitals or at home. Eighteen patients were assigned to the experimental group and 14 to the control group. A sixty minute short-term life review session was held twice a week as the intervention with the experimental group. Results: There was a statistically significant increase in spiritual well-being in the experimental group compared to the control group. There were also significant decreases in depression and anxiety in the experimental group compared to the control group. Conclusion: The results indicate that a short-term life review can be used as a nursing intervention for enhancing the spiritual well-being of patients with terminal cancer.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.1438-1442
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• 2003

A method for the determination of nitrogen in ruminant feedstuffs, products and excreta (e.g. milk and urine) using a spectrophotometer is developed, where samples processed for P determination are also used to determine N. Samples are digested with sulphuric acid and subsequently with hydrogen peroxide in Kjeldahl tubes. Digested solutions along with phenol and buffered alkaline hypochlorite reagents are incubated in a water bath at $37^{\circ}C$ for 30 min and presented in the spectrophotometer. The spectrophotometer set at 625 nm measures the concentration of N of each sample. Nitrogen in 261 of the samples was also determined by the classical Kjeldahl method in order to develop a relationship between N determined by the Kjeldahl method (Y) and the colorimetric method (X). The mean value of Y was as high as that of X (0.92 vs. 0.96; p>0.05). The colorimetric method predicted Kjeldahl N highly significantly (Y=0.985X-0.024, $R^2=0.993$, p<0.001; or more simply Y=0.974X, $R^2=0.993$, p<0.001). An analysis of regression found no difference (p>0.05; both t-test and F-test) between colorimetric (0.96% N) and adjusted (0.96% N) N. In comparison with the Kjeldahl method, the analytical capacity of N by colorimetric method increases greatly, where 200-300 determinations of N are possible in a working day. In addition, the system provides an opportunity to use not only the same digested solution for both N and P determination of a particular sample, but also uses the same spectrophotometer to assay both N and P. Therefore, the system may be attractive in situations where both elements of a sample are to be determined. In conclusion, the speed of N determination, low cost, efficient use of labour, time and reagents, fewer items of equipment, and the reduction of environmental pollution by reducing effluent and toxic elements are the advantages of this method of N determination.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1827-1831
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• 2015

Background: We generated a mouse model of prostate cancer based on the adult-prostate-specific inactivation of phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN) using the Cre-loxP system. The potential of our mice as a useful animal model was examined by evaluating the chemopreventive efficacy of the anti-androgen, chlormadinone acetate (CMA). Materials and Methods: Six-week-old mice were treated subcutaneously with $50{\mu}g/g$ of CMA three times a week for 9 or 14 weeks and sacrificed at weeks 15 and 20. Macroscopic change of the entire genitourinary tract (GUT) and histologically evident prostate gland tumor development were evaluated. Proliferation and apoptosis status in the prostate were examined by immunohistochemistry. Results: CMA triggered significant shrinkage of not only the GUT but also prostate glands at 15 weeks compared to the control (p=0.017 and p=0.010, respectively), and the trend became more marked after a further five-weeks of treatment. The onset of prostate adenocarcinoma was not prevented but the proliferation of cancer cells was inhibited by CMA, which suggested the androgen axis is critical for cancer growth in these mice. Conclusions: Conditional PTEN-deficient mice are useful as a preclinical model for chemoprevention studies and serve as a valuable tool for the future screening of potential chemopreventive agents.

• Journal of the Korean Ceramic Society
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• v.40 no.4
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• pp.350-353
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• 2003

Millimeter-wave dielectric ceramics have been used like applications for ultrahigh speed wireless LAN because it reduces the resources of electromagnetic wave, and Intelligent Transport System (ITS) because of straight propagation wave. For millimeterwave, the dielectric ceramics with high quality factor (Q$.$f), low dielectric constant($\varepsilon$), and nearly zero temperature coefficient of resonant frequency ($\tau$) are needed. No microwave dielectric ceramics with these three properties exist except Ba(Mg$\_$1/3/Ta/sub1/3/)O$_3$ (BMT), which has a little high s: In this paper, alumina (Al$_2$O$_3$) and fosterite (Mg$_2$SiO$_4$), candidates for millimeter-wave applications, were studied with an objective to get high q$.$f and nearly zero $\tau$$\_$f/ For alumina ceramics, q$.$f more than 680,000 GHz was obtained but it was difficult to obtain nearly zero Qf. On the other hand, for forsterite ceramics, q$.$f was achieved from 10,000 GHz of commercial for sterite to 240,000 GHz of highly purified MgO and SiO$_2$ raw materials, and $\tau$$\_$f/ was reduced a few by adding TiO$_2$ with high positive $\tau$$\_$f/.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.354-357
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• 2005

The in vitro degradability of yeast and the effect of yeast on the in vitro degradability of forage may differ in terms of the specific yeast strains or their incubation conditions. Thus in experiment 1, two strains of sake yeast (strainK7 and strainK9) and one strain of bakers' yeast (KY5649) were incubated in an aerobic condition. In experiment 2, aerobically or anaero bically incubated K7 was used for investigating the in vitro degradability of yeast, the effect of yeast on the in vitro degradability of forage, and the degradability of yeast by pepsin and pronase treatment. The in vitrodegradability of bakers' yeast was significantly (p<0.05) higher than those of sake yeasts. The in vitro degradability of anaerobically incubated yeast was significantly (p<0.01) higher than that of aerobically incubated yeast. The degradability of bakers' yeast by pepsin treatment was significantly (p<0.01) higher than that of the sake yeasts. The degradability of bakers' yeast by pronase treatment was slightly higher than that of the two sake yeasts, while the degradability of anaerobically incubated yeast by both enzymes, respectively, was significantly (p<0.01) higher than that of aerobically incubated yeast. The degradability of forages was increased significantly (p<0.05) by the addition of yeasts. The degradability of roughage by sake yeast tended to be higher than that by the bakers' yeast. The degradability of roughage was significantly (p<0.05) higher by anaerobically incubated yeast than by aerobically incubated yeast. Given the above results, it seems that in vitro degradability of yeast and the magnitude of the increment of roughage degradation differ among the yeast strains and their incubation conditions.

• Tunnel and Underground Space
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.493-502
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• 2007

Measurements of hydraulic conductivity are point or interval values, and are highly limited in their number. Meanwhile, results of geophysical prospecting can provide the information of spatial variation of geology, and abundant in number. In this study, it was aimed to develop a data integration tool for constructing a hydraulic conductivity map by integrating geophysical data and hydraulic conductivity measurements. The developed code employed a geostatistical optimization method, simulated annealing (SA), and consists of 4 distinct computation modules by which from exploratory data analysis to postprocessing of the simulation were processed. All these modules are equipped with Graphical User Interface (GUI). Validation of the developed code was evaluated in-situ in characterizing hydraulic characteristics of highly permeable fractured zone.