• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.12
• /
• pp.6311-6318
• /
• 2012

Background: HER2/neu overexpression due to gene amplification is an important factor in breast cancer, modifying the sensitivity to anti-HER2 monoclonal antibody therapy. The clinical significance of HER2 expression in non small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) is currently under evaluation. The tumor suppressor gene PTEN negatively regulates the HER2/PI3K/Akt signalling pathway. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of simultaneous alteration in HER2 and PTEN protein expression in relation to biological behaviour of NSCLCs. Materials and Methods: Protein expression was determined by immunohistochemistry in sixty-one (n=61) NSCLC cases along with CISH for HER2 gene analysis and detection of chromosome 17 aneuploidy. Patients were followed-up for a period of 34 to 41 months after surgery. Results: HER2 overexpression (2+/3+score) was detected in 17 (27.9%) patients while loss of PTEN expression was observed in 24 (39.3%) cases, low expression in 29 (47.6%) and overexpression in 8 (13.1%). Simultaneous HER2 overexpression and PTEN low/loss of expression were correlated with metastasis (71.4% vs 36.2% p=0.03). Analysis in the subgroup of 22 patients of pTNM stage III with lymph node status N1 or N2 revealed that there was a relationship between the number of positive regional lymph node groups and simultaneous deregulation of the two genes (p=0.04). Multivariate analysis determined that HER2 overexpression was associated with an increasing risk of developing metastases (OR: 4.3; 95%CI: 1.2-15.9; p: 0.03) while PTEN overexpression was associated with lower risk (OR: 0.1; 95%CI: 0.1, 1.0; p: 0.05). Conclusions: Simultaneous HER2/PTEN deregulation is a significant genetic event that leads to a more aggressive phenotype of NSCLC.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.4
• /
• pp.1693-1697
• /
• 2012

Objective: To explore the effect on radiosensitivity of arsenic trioxide ($As_20_3$) in conjunction with hyperthermia on the esophageal carcinoma EC-1 cell line. Method: Inhibition of EC-1 cell proliferation at different concentrations of $As_20_3$ was assessed using the methyl thiazolyl blue colorimetric method (MTT method), with calculation of $IC_{50}$ value and choice of 20% of the $IC_{50}$ as the experimental drug concentration. Blank control, $As_20_3$, hyperthermia, radiotherapy group, $As_20_3$ + hyperthermia, $As_20_3$ + radiotherapy, hyperthermia + radiotherapy and $As_20_3$ + hyperthermia + radiotherapy groups were established, and the cell survival fraction (SF) was calculated from flat panel colony forming analysis, and fitted by the 'multitarget click mathematical model'. Flow cytometry (FCM) was used to detect changes in cell apoptosis and the cell cycle. Results: $As_20_3$ exerted inhibitory effects on proliferation of esophageal carcinoma EC-1 cells, with an $IC_{50}$ of 18.7 ${\mu}mol/L$. After joint therapy of $As_20_3$ + hyperthermia + radiotherapy, the results of FCM showed that cells could be arrested in the $G_2$/M phase, and as the ratio of cells in $G_0/G_1$ and S phases decreased, cell death became more pronounced. Conclusion: $As_20_3$ and hyperthermia exert radiosensitivity effects on esophageal carcinoma EC-1 cells, with synergy in combination. Mechanistically, $As_20_3$ and hyperthermia mainly influence the cell cycle distribution of EC-1 esophageal carcinoma cells, decreasing the repair of sublethal damage and inducing apoptosis, thereby enhancing the killing effects of radioactive rays.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.13 no.12
• /
• pp.6511-6516
• /
• 2012

Recently, we reported that an ethanol extract of Iris nertschinskia induces p53-dependent apoptosis in the MCF7 human breast cancer cell line. However, the detailed mechanisms were not fully explored. Here, we demonstrate another aspect of the activity of I. nertschinskia in breast cancer cells. We compared the response to an ethanol extract of I. nertschinskia in two different human breast cancer cell lines, Hs578Tand MDA-MB231, respectively with relatively low and high AKT1/2 activity by trypan blue exclusion assay and FACS analysis. Knockdown of endogenous AKT1 or AKT2 in breast cancer cells by RNA interference determined the sensitivity to I. nertschinskia ethanol extract compared to control cells. The I. nertschinskia ethanol extract induced cell death in a manner that depended on the level of phosphorylated AKT1/2 protein and was associated with a significant increase in the sub-G1 cell population, indicative of apoptosis. Our results indicate that an ethanol extract of I. nertschinskia differentially induces cell death in breast cancer cells depending on their level of phosphorylated AKT1/2.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.17 no.1
• /
• pp.197-200
• /
• 2016

Background: Wedge filters are commonly used in radiation oncology for eliminating hot spots and creating a uniform dose distribution in optimizing isodose curves in the target volume for clinical aspects. These are some limited standard physical wedges ($15^{\circ}$, $30^{\circ}$, $45^{\circ}$, $60^{\circ}$),or creating an arbitrary wedge angle, like motorized wedge or dynamic wedge,${\ldots}$ The new formulation is presented by the combination of wedge fields for determining an arbitrary effective wedge angles. The isodose curves also are derived for these wedges. Materials and Methods: we performed the dosimetry of Varian Clinac 2100C/D with Scanditronix Wellhofer water blue phantom, CU500E, OmniPro - Accept software and 0.13cc ionization chamber for 6Mv photon beam in depth of 10cm (reference depth) for universal physical wedges ($15^{\circ}$, $30^{\circ}$, $45^{\circ}$, and $60^{\circ}$) and reference field $10.10cm^2$. By combining the isodose curve standard wedge fields with compatible weighting dose for each field, the effective isodose curve is calculated for any wedge angle. Results: The relation between a given effective wedge angle and the weighting of each combining wedge fields was derived. A good agreement was found between the measured and calculated wedge angles and the maximum deviation did not exceed $3^{\circ}$. The difference between the measured and calculated data decreased when the combined wedge angles were closer. The results are in agreement with the motorized single wedge appliance in the literature. Conclusions: This technique showed that the effective wedge angle that is obtained from this method is adequate for clinical applications and the motorized wedge formalism is a special case of this consideration.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.24
• /
• pp.10659-10663
• /
• 2015

Background: Rapamycin is an effective anti-angiogenic drug. However, the mode of its action remains unclear. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to elucidate the antitumor mechanism of rapamycin, hypothetically via apoptotic promotion, using MCF-7 breast cancer cells. Materials and Methods: MCF-7 cells were plated at a density of $1{\times}10^5$ cells/well in 6-well plates. After 24h, cells were treated with a series of concentrations of rapamycin while only adding DMEM medium with PEG for the control regiment and grown at $37^{\circ}C$, 5% $CO_2$ and 95% air for 72h. Trypan blue was used to determine the cell viability and proliferation. Untreated and rapamycin-treated MCF-7 cells were also examined for morphological changes with an inverted-phase contrast microscope. Alteration in cell morphology was ascertained, along with a stage in the cell cycle and proliferation. In addition, cytotoxicity testing was performed using normal mouse breast mammary pads. Results: Our results clearly showed that rapamycin exhibited inhibitory activity on MCF-7 cell lines. The $IC_{50}$ value of rapamycin on the MCF-7 cells was determined as $0.4{\mu}g/ml$ (p<0.05). Direct observation by inverted microscopy demonstrated that the MCF-7 cells treated with rapamycin showed characteristic features of apoptosis including cell shrinkage, vascularization and autophagy. Cells underwent early apoptosis up to 24% after 72h. Analysis of the cell cycle showed an increase in the G0G1 phase cell population and a corresponding decrease in the S and G2M phase populations, from 81.5% to 91.3% and 17.3% to 7.9%, respectively. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that rapamycin may potentially act as an anti-cancer agent via the inhibition of growth with some morphological changes of the MCF-7 cancer cells, arrest cell cycle progression at G0/G1 phase and induction of apoptosis in late stage of apoptosis. Further studies are needed to further characterize the mode of action of rapamycin as an anti-cancer agent.

• Strategy21
• /
• s.32
• /
• pp.160-191
• /
• 2013

This article is focused how the maritime strategy between continental powered country(the Soviet, the China) and maritime powered country(the U.S.) interact with attack and defense theory. We will know, what is the maritime strategy that the U.S. of military superiority has pursued with the point of view of attack, on the other hand, relatively what is the maritime strategy that the Soviet-Sino of military inferiority has pursued with the point of view of defense. In cold war, the Soviet has counteracted to 'blue belt defense' in active defense as to the U.S. 'sea strike' and in post cold war, the China counteract to 'A2/AD' as to the U.S. 'Air-Sea Battle'. The difference between the Soviet-Sino maritime strategy is that the China has emerged the second an economic power and their leadership has a strong's will to strengthen their navy's power. although the U.S. declare the pivot to Asia, the influence on Asia of the U.S. tend to decrease because of sequest. therefore, the China will seek to the more active defense beyond the first island chain. Meanwhile, the U.S. has reinforced of 'hub and spoke strategy' to solidify the U.S. formal allies to band together regional powers and to overcome the A2/AD challenge, the U.S. has been developed that the Air-Sea Battle concept meshes with Washington's 'rebalancing' policy toward the Asia-Pacific as its vital missions to safeguard core island or semi-island allies-namely, Korea and Japan-and crucial sea lanes of communication in the region are conducted mostly from or over the sea.

• Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.77-90
• /
• 2012

As the influence of service industry into domestic economy is increasing, it also has been influenced more powerfully at the domestic GDP(Gross Domestic Product) relative importance and employment relative importance continuously. By means of these reason, the Korean government announced the synthetic countermeasure for strengthening the competitive power of service industry in December, 2006. After then, it announced phase I of 'service industry advancing plan' which is concrete execution plan in April, 2008. Also, it is announced to announce phase II plans in september, 2008 and phase III plan in December, 2008 additionally. Service quality is the most powerful competitive means at service marketing and a key point for improving service productivity. The improvement of service quality has considerable influence on survival and profitability of service industry. Therefore, the study of objective service quality measurement in service industry is very important issue. The purpose of this study is to suggest a measurement model of service quality using fuzzy theory and AHP which measuring service quality objectively in subjective environment. It is expected that this study will help the improvement of competition power of service industry as well as establishment of effective decision-making.

• Journal of fish pathology
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.27-35
• /
• 2015

VHSV is a major viral agent that affects freshwater and marine fish, causing serious economic losses in aquaculture in the world. Due to their filter-feeding activity, bivalve mollusks may act as viral transmitters after accumulation of the fish viruses released into seawater from infected fish. Amplification by RT-PCR was carried out to investigate the presence of VHSV in pacific oysters (Crassotrea gigas) and blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), inhabiting regions around aquatic farms in Korea. Primers designed from conserved regions of VHSVs allowed us to detect four different types of VHSV in a single PCR. Twenty two of the eighty four samples showed positive results of VHSV in a 2-step RT-PCR. Using six positive samples from three different regions in Korea, we cloned and sequenced the glycoprotein (G) gene (467-bp long) of VHSVs. Genetic analysis of the VHSVs detected in shellfish in various geographical areas of Korea showed highly restricted results to VHSV type Iva. This was in agreement with the reports showing only a single genotype of VHSV (Iva genotype) in outbreaks in cultured or wild fish in Korea. Consequently, we investigated VHSVs carried by bivalve mollusks inhabiting the vicinity of aquatic farms, and revealed correlationship between the type of viral accumulated in shellfish by filter-feeding, and those detected in disease outbreaks in fish.

• Korean Journal of Ecology and Environment
• /
• v.54 no.3
• /
• pp.229-239
• /
• 2021

Thamnaconus modestus, distributed in the Northwest Pacific, has high economic value and is used in various seafood. In this study, the morphological and genetic characteristics of T. modestus and T. septentrionalis were compared and analyzed. We observed the external and internal morphology of T. modestus, sketched skeletal elements, and analyzed phylogenetic evolutionary relationships using the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene on mitochondrial DNA compared to T. septentrionalis. The T. modestus observed in this study had blackish-brown patterns irregularly scattered on the gray-brown body, and the fins were blue-green. Genetic analysis results based on the COI sequences of T. modestus showed seven types of base sequence variation; however, the homology was more than 98.8%. In addition, as a result of comparison of the COI nucleotide sequences and phylogenetic analysis in Tetraodontiformes, two T. septentrionalis sequences (JN813099, MW485059) were similar to T. modestus with 99% homology, and the other two T. septentrionalis sequences (EF607583, KP267619) were similar to those of species belonging to another genus Thamnaconus with 95% homology with T. modestus. It was not easy to classify the species based on morphological characteristics, and phylogenetic analysis between T. modestus and T. septentrionalis confirmed the difference in classification. These results provide the external and internal morphology of T. modestus and will be used as important information for the taxonomic study of T. modestus and T. septentrionalis.

• Korean Journal of Remote Sensing
• /
• v.38 no.5_3
• /
• pp.979-989
• /
• 2022

We examined changes in the shell valve movements (SVMs) of Mytilus edulis and Crassostrea gigas using a Hall element sensor to investigate the early detection of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium pacificum. No increase or decrease was observed in SVMs caused by the non-toxic algae Isochrysis galbana in both M. edulis and C. gigas. However, when M. edulis and C. gigas were exposed to A. pacificum, which causes paralytic shellfish poisoning, the average SVMs for 12 hours before and after exposure increased from 1.25 times/hr to 2.13 times/hr and 2.23 times/hr to 8.91 times/hr, respectively. After exposure to A. pacificum, the SVMs of M. edulis increased rapidly within 1 hour and then decreased gradually. However, C. gigas showed high SVMs until 4 hours after exposure. SVMs of C. gigas appeared to be more sensitive to toxic dinoflagellate than those of M. edulis. Therefore, these results are expected to be used as basic data for the establishment of a biological monitoring system for early detection of the toxic dinoflagellate A. pacificum.