• Title/Summary/Keyword: CQ

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A new cell-direct quantitative PCR based method to monitor viable genetically modified Escherichia coli

  • Yang Qin;Bo Qu;Bumkyu Lee
    • Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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    • v.49 no.4
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    • pp.795-807
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    • 2022
  • The development and commercialization of industrial genetically modified (GM) organisms is actively progressing worldwide, highlighting an increased need for improved safety management protocols. We sought to establish an environmental monitoring method, using real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and propidium monoazide (PMA) treatment to develop a quantitative detection protocol for living GM microorganisms. We developed a duplex TaqMan quantitative PCR (qPCR) assay to simultaneously detect the selectable antibiotic gene, ampicillin (AmpR), and the single-copy Escherichia coli taxon-specific gene, D-1-deoxyxylulose 5-phosphate synthase (dxs), using a direct cell suspension culture. We identified viable engineered E. coli cells by performing qPCR on PMA-treated cells. The theoretical cell density (true copy numbers) calculated from mean quantification cycle (Cq) values of PMA-qPCR showed a bias of 7.71% from the colony-forming unit (CFU), which was within ±25% of the acceptance criteria of the European Network of GMO Laboratories (ENGL). PMA-qPCR to detect AmpR and dxs was highly sensitive and was able to detect target genes from a 10,000-fold (10-4) diluted cell suspension, with a limit of detection at 95% confidence (LOD95%) of 134 viable E. coli cells. Compared to DNA-based qPCR methods, the cell suspension direct PMA-qPCR analysis provides reliable results and is a quick and accurate method to monitor living GM E. coli cells that can potentially be released into the environment.

A study on the Brain function specialty based on the Maladaptive Soldier by Brain waves analysis (뇌파분석을 통한 군복무 부적응 병사의 뇌기능 특징 연구)

  • Ryu, Myeong-Oh;Yi, Seon-Gyu;Bak, Ki-Ja
    • Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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    • v.15 no.4
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    • pp.1916-1922
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    • 2014
  • This study focuses on observing the brain function characteristics of maladaptive soldiers, through EEG analysis. The number of subjects was 1,119 including 59 maladaptive soldiers, 60 normal soldiers and 1,000 civil youths. The EEG measurements were performed from Sep. 2013 to Jan. 2014. As a result of the study, first, the soldier group's BRQ, ATQ, EQ, ASQ and BQ values were significantly higher than civil youth's, on the contrary to SRQ, ACQ, CQ which were higher in civil youth group. Second, compared to normal soldiers, the values of EQ and BQ were meaningfully low in maladaptive soldiers group, as well as the average values of each 8 quotient. In conclusion, military service can be assumed to have a positive effect on brain function of all soldiers due to regular life cycle, usual physical activities and balanced nutrition, but less effect on maladaptive soldiers who are exempted from those strict life.

Analysis of Singer's Formant & Close Quotient During Change of the Larynx Position (후두위치의 변화에 따른 Singer's Formant와 성대접촉률의 변화 연구)

  • Nam, Do-Hyun;Choi, Seong-Hee;Choi, Jae-Nam;Chun, Suck-Pil;Choi, Hong-Shik
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Laryngology, Phoniatrics and Logopedics
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    • v.15 no.2
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    • pp.98-111
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    • 2004
  • Background and Objectives : The purpose of this study is to analyze the difference of Fundamental Frequency(Hz), Closed Quotient(Qx ; %), Intensity(dB), Vocal tract length and width(cm), formant frequency(Hz), level of formant frequency(dB) depending on the larynx position. Materials and Methods : One professional male singer(career : 28 years) produced sustained vowel /a/,/e/,/i/,/o/,/u/ in two larynx position (higher, lower) with Dr. Speech and video fluoroscopy was used to quantify the vocal tract morphology. Results : In lower larynx position, CQ is increased 9.8% and Intensity is increased about 10% and level of Formant Frequency is increased. And also Vocal tract length is longer 2.4cm, Vocal tract width(Anterior width : 0.4cm, lateral width : 0.2cm) is wider than in higher larynx position. Conclusions : Singer's formant has a prominent spectrum envelope peak near 2400-2600Hz by clustering of F3, F4 and F5 near 3400Hz in lower larynx position.

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Antioxidant Defense and Lipid Peroxide Level in Liver and Kidneys of Lead Exposed Rats

  • Patra, R.C.;Swarup, D.;Dwivedi, S.K.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.13 no.10
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    • pp.1433-1439
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    • 2000
  • An experiment was carried out with 48 IVRI 2CQ rats 6-8 week old, weighing 50-100 g, to study the effect of lead exposure on antioxidant defense, lipid peroxide level, status of thiol groups and concentration of lead in the liver and kidneys at the end of the exposure and also after withdrawal of lead administration. Twenty four rats were given lead at a daily dose rate of 1 mg lead/2 ml of distilled water/kg body weight as lead acetate solution intraperitoneally for a period of 30 days. Another 24 control rats received 2 ml of sterile normal saline solution (0.85% NaCl)/kg body weight in an identical manner. A many-fold increase in concentration of lead was associated with a non-significant (p>0.05) decrease in the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the liver (27%) and kidneys (12%) and catalase in kidneys (22%). A significant (p<0.05) increase in lipid peroxide level was recorded in the liver (40%) compared with control values. There were significant (p<0.05) decreases in the total thiol and protein bound thiol contents in liver and an increase in non-protein bound thiol groups in the kidneys of lead exposed rats. During the 10 day observation period after withdrawal of lead administration, no significant change was observed with respect to any of the above parameters indicating that a 10 day withdrawal period was not enough for restoration of normality. It is concluded that the magnitude of response and the resultant changes in the lipid peroxide concentration, and the activities of SOD and catalase were not identical in the liver and kidneys of lead-exposed rats.

Oleanolic acid induced autophagic cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma cells via PI3K/Akt/mTOR and ROS-dependent pathway

  • Shi, Yang;Song, Qingwei;Hu, Dianhe;Zhuang, Xiaohu;Yu, Shengcai;Teng, Dacai
    • The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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    • v.20 no.3
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    • pp.237-243
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    • 2016
  • Oleanolic acid (OA) has a wide variety of bioactivities such as hepatoprotective, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity and is used for medicinal purposes in many Asian countries. In the present study, the effect of OA on induction of autophagy in human hepatocellular carcinoma HepG2 and SMC7721 cells and the related mechanisms were investigated. MTT assay showed that OA significantly inhibited HepG2 and SMC7721 cells growth. OA treatment enhanced formation of autophagic vacuoles as revealed by monodansylcadaverine (MDC) staining. At the same time, increasing punctuate distribution of microtubule-associated protein 1 light chain 3 (LC3) and an increasing ratio of LC3-II to LC3-I were also triggered by OA incubation. In addition, OA-induced cell death was significantly inhibited by autophagy inhibitors 3-methyladenine (3-MA) and chloroquine (CQ) pretreatment. And we found out that OA can suppress the PI3K/Akt1/mTOR signaling pathway. Furthermore, our data suggested that OA-triggered autophagy was ROS-dependent as demonstrated by elevated cellular ROS levels by OA treatment. When ROS was cleared by N-acetylcysteine (NAC), OA-induced LC3-II convertsion and cell death were all reversed. Taken together, our results suggest that OA exerts anticancer effect via autophagic cell death in hepatocellular carcinoma.

The effects of dentin bonding agent formulas on their polymerization quality, and together with tooth tissues on their microleakage and shear bond strength: an explorative 3-step experiment

  • Erfan, Mohmmad;Jafarzadeh-Kashi, Tahereh Sadat;Ghadiri, Malihe;Rakhshan, Vahid
    • The Journal of Advanced Prosthodontics
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    • v.6 no.5
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    • pp.333-345
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    • 2014
  • PURPOSE. Bonding agents (BA) are the crucial weak link of composite restorations. Since the commercial materials' compositions are not disclosed, studies to formulize the optimum ratios of different components are of value. The aim of this study was to find a proper formula of BAs. MATERIALS AND METHODS. This explorative experimental in vitro study was composed of 4 different sets of extensive experiments. A commercial BA and 7 experimental formulas were compared in terms of degree of conversion (5 experimental formulas), shear bond strength, mode of failure, and microleakage (3 experimental formulas). Statistical analyses were performed (${\alpha}$=.05). The DC of selected formula was tested one year later. RESULTS. The two-way ANOVA indicated a significant difference between the shear bond strength (SBS) of two tissues (dentin vs. enamel, P=.0001) in a way that dentinal bonds were weaker. However, there was no difference between the four materials (P=.283). The adhesive mode of failure was predominant in all groups. No differences between the microleakage of the four materials at occlusal (P=.788) or gingival (P=.508) sites were detected (Kruskal-Wallis). The Mann-Whitney U test showed a significant difference between the microleakage of all materials (3 experimental formulas and a commercial material) together at the occlusal site versus the gingival site (P=.041). CONCLUSION. A formula with 62% bisphenol A-glycidyl methacrylate (Bis-GMA), 37% hydroxy ethyl methacrylate (HEMA), 0.3% camphorquinone (CQ), and 0.7% dimethyl-para-toluidine (DMPT) seems a proper formula for mass production. The microleakage and SBS might be respectively higher and lower on dentin compared to enamel.

How Does Yoga Breathing Affect Prefrontal QEEG Quotients?

  • Kim, Eunmi
    • Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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    • v.16 no.1
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    • pp.75-84
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    • 2013
  • The underlying changes in biological processes that are associated with reported changes in mental and physical health in response to yoga breathing ($pr{\bar{a}}n{\bar{a}}y{\bar{a}}ma$) have not been systematically explored yet. In this study, the effects of a yoga breathing program on prefrontal EEG were tested with middle-aged women. Participants were collected as volunteers and controlled into two groups. Two channel EEG was recorded in the prefrontal region (Fp1, Fp2) from the yoga breathing group (n=17) and control group (n=17). QEEG quotients were transformed from the EEGs and analyzed by the ANOVAs on gain scores. As a result, ${\alpha}/{\delta}$ (left, right) and CQ (correlation quotient) for yoga breathing participants were significantly decreased compared to control group (p<.05). ${\alpha}/{\beta}_H+{\alpha}/{\delta}$ (left, right) were increased significantly (p<.05). For those significantly changed QEEG quotients, the interaction effects of Group x prefrontal alpha (${\alpha}$) and beta (${\beta}$) asymmetry were tested. Only the ${\alpha}$ asymmetry showed main effect on the gain score of ${\alpha}/{\beta}_H+{\alpha}/{\delta}$ (right) with F (1, 34)=5.694 (p<.05). Pearson's correlation coefficient between ${\alpha}$ asymmetry and gain score of ${\alpha}/{\beta}_H+{\alpha}/{\delta}$ (right) was .374 (p<.05). The gain score of ${\alpha}/{\beta}_H+{\alpha}/{\delta}$ (right) was increased for the right ${\alpha}$ dominance of yoga breathing group. On the contrary it was decreased for the left ${\alpha}$ dominance of yoga breathing group as well as the control regardless of the dominance. The result of this study implies that yoga breathing increases stress resistance and is effective in the management of physical stress. Emotionally relaxed people may have greater instantaneous stress reduction after yoga breathing. Moreover, yoga breathing could be also beneficial for depressed who may be more vulnerable to stress.

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An Experimental Study of Comfortable Pitch and Loudness with Target Matching: Effects on Electroglottographic and Acoustic Measures

  • Choi, Seong Hee
    • Phonetics and Speech Sciences
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    • v.4 no.4
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    • pp.139-146
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    • 2012
  • This study was designed to examine comfort levels of pitch and loudness with target matching and their effects on electroglottographic (EGG) and acoustic measures. Twelve speakers, six males and six females, were instructed to produce /a/ sustained vowel for three seconds at a comfortable pitch and loudness level without any instruction and with a target matching procedure of either a certain f0 or SPL separately with visual and auditory feedback. The range of pitch for females and males were presented by progressing up and down randomly at intervals of 5Hz from 150 Hz to 310 Hz (total 33 frequency targets) and from 85 Hz to 190 Hz (total 22 frequency targets), respectively. The loudness levels were 65, 75, 85, 95 dB (total of four intensity targets) for both males and females. Subjective estimations of comfortable levels were obtained using a 10-point equal-appearing interval rating scale following each phonation. The results showed that males and females demonstrated similar trends in loudness levels with greatest comfort at 75 dB, whereas pitch comfort ratings showed a greater variability with females having a wider range with target matching. In the comfort levels of individuals, most male and female speakers rated higher comfort at soft, rather than loud phonations. On the other hand, most male speakers perceived highest comfort levels below the comfort pitch levels they phonated under natural conditions. Higher frequency ranges, however, were perceived to be more comfortable than those of natural condition in most female speakers, although the comfortable pitch levels in spontaneous phonations were within the comfort level ranges determined by targeted phonations. When comparing acoustic (%jitter, %shimmer, SNR) and EGG measures (CQ%) between spontaneous comfortable phonations and targeted phonations produced by the same subject at similar f0 and intensity, no significant differences were observed (p>0.05). Thus, target matching procedures may be considered a compatible and alternative method to reduce the variability of comfortable pitch and loudness levels by eliciting consistent comfortable phonations.

Analysis of Elementary Pre-service Teachers' Concern on Software Education Using the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (관심기반수용모형을 활용한 초등 예비교사의 소프트웨어 교육 관심도 분석)

  • Jo, Miheon
    • Journal of The Korean Association of Information Education
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    • v.22 no.5
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    • pp.535-543
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    • 2018
  • The purpose of this research is to analyze the current status of elementary pre-service teachers' concern on SW education using the Concern-Based Adoption Model, and to investigate issues to be considered in pre-service teacher education. The participants were 137 senior students enrolled in a university of education. A survey was conducted using the Stages of Concerns Questionnaire(SoCQ). Elementary pre-service teachers' concern on SW education was turned out to be the highest at the awareness stage, and the lowest at the consequence stage, and thus showed the 'nonuser' pattern. It also showed a 'positive nonuser' pattern by indicating a little more concern at the collaboration and refocusing stages than the consequence stage concerning the impact of SW education. In addition, no significant difference was found according to pre-service teachers' gender. In comparison with that, significant differences were found according to their programming level at the awareness, personal, consequence and collaboration stages. Based on the results of the research, suggestions were made for the improvement of the pre-service teachers' SW education program concerning the presentation of related information and the enhancement of programming capabilities.

Changes in Aerodynamic Function and Closed Quotient with the Variable Pitch and Loudness in Male Classic Singers (남성 성악가의 음도고정시 강도 변화와 강도고정시 음도 변화의 공기역학 및 성대접촉율의 변화)

  • Nam, Do-Hyun;Paik, Jae-Yeon;Kim, Jae-Ok;Park, Sun-Young;Choi, Hong-Shik
    • Speech Sciences
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    • v.14 no.2
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    • pp.23-33
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    • 2007
  • This study examined the aerodynamic functions (mean airflow rate MFR, subglottal pressure Psub) and closed quotients (CQs) in the fixed pitch (C3, E3, G3, C4) with the variable loudness (70 and 80 dB) as well as in the fixed loudness at 70 dB and 80 dB with the variable pitch (C3, E3, G3, C4) in five classic male singers (Baritone). Results showed that MFR significantly increased at C3, E3, and G3 and Psub significantly increased at C4 when the loudness increased from 70 to 80 dB. At 70 dB, MFR and Psub significantly increased and CQ significantly decreased when the pitch increased from C3 to C4. At 80 dB, MFR significantly decreased when the pitch increased from C3 to G3. However, Psub showed the significant decrease with the pitch increased at 80 dB. In conclusion, as the loudness increases, the aerodynamic loss is getting higher and vocal efficiency becomes lower at low pitch than at higher pitch. At a low loudness level, the main mechanism to control loudness is the amount of medial compression of the vocal folds rather than the aerodynamic function. In addition, the aerodynamic function and medial compression of the vocal folds have a significant role in increasing the loudness level.

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