• Journal of the Korean earth science society
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.222-235
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• 2015

Samples were collected from both places including the coastal area within the height of 5 m above the mean sea level (msl) (DH) and the top of the coastal terrace of 10-15 m msl (KS) high in Gwangseungri, Gochanggun, Korea. To find the origin of the deposit in the coastal area, granulometric analysis and geochemical analysis were performed. The result showed that the DH samples were originated from the reddish soils overlaying weathered bedrock which presented gradual change of chemical composition from the bottom toward the top. Clay minerals were found from the DH samples. These results concluded that the DH samples were found as in-situ weathered materials. The KS samples were originated from the soil layer covering gravel layer at the foot slope of the hill along the coast. The KS samples contained different chemical compositions from the DH. It is inferred that some of this layer was disturbed or experienced the influx of foreign material. The particle size of the KS samples was different from those found on the beach. The particle size of lower parts of KS site was finer than that on the beach, but the particle size of middle part of the site was coarser than that on the beach. The sorting of the KS site was poorer than that on the beach. Thus, it is inferred that some parts of the layer were formed by short-lived high energy event rather than sustained and continuous action of tidal currents and/or waves. Analysis using an optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) method showed that the burial age of samples from KS site were found 0.65-0.71 ka. Though the characteristics of the sediment layer and forming event in this area should be further studied, it can be inferred that this sedimentary layer formed by coastal flooding with storm.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Medical Physics Conference
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• 2003.09a
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• pp.78-78
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• 2003

Purpose: This event related fMRI study was to further our understanding about how different brain regions could contribute to effective access of specific information stored in long term memory. This experiment has allowed us to determine the brain regions involved in recognition of familiar faces among non familiar faces. Materials and Methods: Twelve right handed normal, healthy volunteer adults participated in face recognition experiment. The paradigm consists of two 40 familiar faces, 40 unfamiliar faces and control base with scrambled faces in a randomized order, with null events. Volunteers were instructed to press on one of two possible buttons of a response box to indicate whether a face was familiar or not. Incorrect answers were ignored. A 1.5T MRI system(GMENS) was employed to evaluate brain activity by using blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) contrast. Gradient Echo EPI sequence with TR/TE= 2250/40 msec was used for 17 contiguous axial slices of 7mm thickness, covering the whole brain volume (240mm Field of view, 64 ${\times}$ 64 in plane resolution). The acquired data were applied to SPM99 for the processing such as realignment, normalization, smoothing, statistical ANOVA and statistical preference. Results/Disscusion: The comparison of familiar faces vs unfamiliar faces yielded significant activations in the medial temporal regions, the occipito temporal regions and in frontal regions. These results suggest that when volunteers are asked to recognize familiar faces among unfamiliar faces they tend to activate several regions frequently involved in face perception. The medial temporal regions are also activated for familiar and unfamiliar faces. This interesting result suggests a contribution of this structure in the attempt to match perceived faces with pre existing semantic representations stored in long term memory.

• Conservation Science in Museum
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• v.13
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• pp.13-22
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• 2012

The patterns for Jeogui and Pyeseul (patterns of the queen's ceremonial robe worn and a belt ornament covering knees in the front) as owned by National Museum of Korea were made in the early 20th century and both of them were colored on paper. Through a non-destructive analysis on pigments and dyes used on both the patterns, it was attempted to identify the coloring materials. As for the analysis of the coloring pigments, the XRF was used. As a result of the pigment analysis on the pattern for Jeogui, it is presumed that lead white was used for obtaining the white color, ink stick for black color, orpiment for yellow color, cinnabar and red lead for red color, copper and arsenical or a mixture of copper carbonate and orpiment for green color whereas brass seems to have been used for obtaining other colors. The pigments used for obtaining the colors of white, black, yellow and green on the pattern for Pyeseul are the same as those used on the pattern for Jeogui whereas the red pigments used on each of the two patterns are seen to be different. Although it may be difficult to identify the kinds of blue pigments that were used on the patterns for Jeogui and Pyeseul, a mixture containing lead white is presumed to be used as blue pigment. Also, as a result of the UV-Vis spectroscopic analysis performed on the blue hanji (traditional Korean paper) of the pattern for Jeogui, it was presumed to have been dyed with indigo.

• Ecology and Resilient Infrastructure
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.180-185
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• 2017

Restoration of min-impacted arable land is often performed through stabilization of trace elements by amendment treatment combined with (clean) soil covering on the surface. Recently, soil loss problem from sloping remediated agricultural lands has risen as an emerging concern. In this study, efficacy of aggregation formation was assessed by single and binary treatments of four potential amendments (bentonite, lime, organic matter, and steel slag) applied on three cover soils having different clay contents (9.4, 14.7, and 21.2% for A, B, and C soils respectively). In results of single treatments, 5% organic matter for A soil and 5% lime for B and C soils were found most effective for the aggregation formation compared to the respective controls (without amendments). Among nine binary treatments, 3% organic matter + 1% lime for A soil and 1% organic matter + 3% lime for both B and C soils led to the highest formation of aggregation (30.4, 25.0, and 36.5% for A, B, and C soils). For a site-application, the soil erodibility difference between the cover soils (0.045, 0.051, and 0.054 for A, B, and C soils, respectively) and the national average of arable land (0.032) was assumed to be compensated by amendment addition, which is equivalent to 29.1% aggregation formation. To achieve the aggregation goal, 5% lime for A and B soils and 3% lime for C soil were best in the consideration of benefit/cost, thereby effectively and economically reducing soil loss from sloping remediation site. Soil alkalinity induced by lime treatment was not considered in this work.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.791-797
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• 2016

Background: Punjab state is particularly reporting a rising burden of cancer. A 'door to door cancer awareness and early detection campaign' was therefore launched in the Punjab covering about 2.67 million population, wherein after initial training accredited social health activists (ASHAs) and other health staff conducted a survey for early detection of cancer cases based on a twelve point clinical algorithm. Objective: To ascertain unit cost for undertaking a population-based cancer awareness and early detection campaign. Materials and Methods: Data were collected using bottom-up costing methods. Full economic costs of implementing the campaign from the health system perspective were calculated. Options to meet the likely demand for project activities were further evaluated to examine their worth from the point of view of long-term sustainability. Results: The campaign covered 97% of the state population. A total of 24,659 cases were suspected to have cancer and were referred to health facilities. At the state level, incidence and prevalence of cancer were found to be 90 and 216 per 100,000, respectively. Full economic cost of implementing the campaign in pilot district was USD 117,524. However, the financial cost was approximately USD 6,301. Start-up phase of campaign was more resource intensive (63% of total) than the implementation phase. The economic cost per person contacted and suspected by clinical algorithm was found to be USD 0.20 and USD 40 respectively. Cost per confirmed case under the campaign was 7,043 USD. Conclusions: The campaign was able to screen a reasonably large population. High to high economic cost points towards the fact that the opportunity cost of campaign put a significant burden on health system and other programs. However, generating awareness and early detection strategy adopted in this campaign seems promising in light of fact that organized screening is not in place in India and in many developing countries.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2333-2340
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• 2015

Background: Due to the strong inhibitory effects of $PPAR{\gamma}$ gene on the growth of cancer cells, the role of Pro12Ala polymorphism in $PPAR{\gamma}$ gene has been extensively investigated in cancer recently. However, the results were inconsistent according to cancer type. The aim of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the $PPAR{\gamma}$ Pro12Ala polymorphism and gastric cancer susceptibility. Materials and Methods: Search strategies were conducted in Pubmed, Medline (Ovid), Chinese biomedical database (CBM), China national knowledge infrastructure (CNKI), VIP, and Wanfang database, covering all publications, with the last search up to November 01, 2014. The strength of association between $PPAR{\gamma}$ Pro12Ala polymorphism and gastric cancer risk was assessed by OR with 95%CI. Results: A total of 546 cases and 827 controls in 5 case-control studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that the variant G allele carriers (CG+GG) had a 2.31 times higher risk for gastric cancer when compared with the homozygote CC (odds ratio (OR)=2.31, 95% confidence interval (CI)=1.67-3.21 for CG+GG vs. CC). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, significantly elevated risks were both found in Asians (OR=2.56, 95% CI=1.42-4.64) and Caucasians (OR=2.20, 95% CI=1.48-3.25). Similarly, in the subgroup analysis by H. pylori status, a significantly increased risk was identified in H. pylori (+) populations (OR=3.68, 95%CI=2.07-6.52), but not in H. pylori(-) populations (OR=1.17, 95%CI=0.58-2.39). Conclusions: This pooled analysis suggested that the $PPAR{\gamma}$ Pro12Ala polymorphism could be an independent predictive risk factor for gastric cancer especially in H. pylori infected populations in Asians and Caucasians. Nevertheless, prospectively designed cohort studies are needed to further investigate gene-gene and gene-environment interactions to confirm the combined effects of $PPAR{\gamma}$ Pro12Ala polymorphisms and H. pylori infection on gastric cancer risk.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.2863-2868
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• 2014

Background: The 765G>C polymorphism in cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) gene has been extensively investigated for association with gastric cancer (GC). However, the results of different studies have been inconsistent. The aim of this study is to comprehensively evaluate the genetic risk of -765G>C polymorphism in the COX-2 gene for GC. Materials and Methods: We searched Pubmed, Embase, Medline, CNKI database, Wanfang database, Weipu database, and Chinese Biomedical database, covering all publications (last search been performed on Jan 10, 2014). Statistical analyses were performed using Revman 5.2 and STATA 10.0 software. Results: A total of 1,874 cases and 3,005 controls in 10 case-control studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results indicated that the variant C allele carriers (GC+CC) had a 69% increased risk of GC when compared with the homozygote GG (odds ratio (OR)=1.69, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.10-2.61 for GC+CC vs GG). In the subgroup analysis by ethnicity, significant elevated risks were associated with C allele carriers in Asians (OR=1.75, 95%CI=1.40-2.18, and p<0.00001) and in Indians (OR=8.38, 95%CI=4.34-16.16, and p<0.00001) but not in Caucasians (OR=1.07, 95%CI=0.81-1.42, and p=0.62) or in Dutch (OR=0.53, 95%CI= 0.33-0.87, and p= 0.01).In the subgroup analysis by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) status, a significantly increased risk was identified among H. pylori (+) (OR=3.58, 95%CI=2.33-3.50, and p<0.00001) and H. pylori (-) (OR=2.32, 95%CI=1.46-3.69, and p=0.0004). Conclusions: This meta-analysis suggested that the -765G>C polymorphism in the COX-2 gene could be a risk factor for GC in Asians and Indians.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.11
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• pp.4685-4690
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• 2015

Purpose: To evaluate the correlation between cosmetic outcome (CO), body image, and quality of life in post breast-conserving therapy (BCT) women. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study concerned one-year post-completed BCT Thai women. The data included subjective and objective CO with a questionnaire covering demographic and clinical data, anti-hormonal treatment status, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status, Self-Reported Cosmetic Outcomes (SRCO), Self-Reported Breast Symmetry (SRBS), Body Image Scale (BIS), and the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy with Breast Cancer subscale (FACT-B). Participants had breast photographs taken for the evaluation of objective cosmetic outcome (OCO) after breast cancer conservation treatment. The relationship between CO and FACT-B was tested using Spearman's rank correlation Results: A total 127 participants volunteered for the study. The participant characteristics were age 52(${\pm}9$), Buddhist 87%, married 65%, body mass index 25.0(${\pm}4.6$), breast cup size A-C 91%, college educated 60%, employed 66%, ECOG 0-1 95%, tumor size less than or equal to 2 cm 55%, no lymph node metastasis 98%, and taking tamoxifen 57%. Two percent of the participants regretted their decision to undergo BCT. The SRCO was excellent in 2%, good in 68%, fair in 30%, and poor in 0%. For SRBS, rates were 17%, 58%, 24% and 1% for excellent, good, fair and poor cosmetic outcomes, respectively. The BCCT scores were excellent 24%, good 39%, fair 32%, and poor 6%. The median total QOL score of the participants was 130 (93-144). There was no significant correlation between CO and FACT-B scores. Conclusions: The significance of CO for FACT-B in Thai women with breast cancer could not be assessed in detail because of a very low level of correlation. The results may be due to the effects of cultural background.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.16 no.7
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• pp.2915-2921
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• 2015

Background: Some recent clinical trials have been conducted to evaluate a combination of EGFR- TKI with chemotherapy for advanced NSCLC patients as second-line therapy, but the results on the efficacy of such trials are inconsistent. The aim of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of combination of EGFR-TKI and chemotherapy for patients with advanced NSCLC who failed first-line treatment. Materials and Methods: We searched relative trials from PubMed, EMBASE, ASCO Abstracts, ESMO Abstracts, Cochrane Library and Clinical Trials.gov. Outcomes analyzed were overall response rate (ORR), progression- free survival (PFS), overall survival (OS) and major toxicity. Results: Seven trails eventually were included in this meta-analysis, covering 1,168 patients. The results showed that the combined regimen arm had a significant higher ORR (RR 1.76 [1.16, 2.66], p=0.007) and longer PFS (HR 0.75 [0.66-0.85], p<0.00001), but failed to show effects on OS (HR 0.88 [0.68-1.15], p=0.36). In terms of subgroup results, continuation of EGFR-TKI in addition to chemotherapy after first-line EGFR-TKI resistance confered no improvement in ORR (RR 0.95 [0.68, 1.33], p=0.75) and PFS (HR 0.89[0.69, 1.15], p=0.38), and OS was even shorter (HR1.52 [1.05-2.21], p=0.03). However, combination therapy with EGFR-TKI and chemotherapy after failure of first-line chemotherapy significantly improved the ORR (RR 2.06 [1.42, 2.99], p=0.0002), PFS (HR 0.71 [0.61, 0.82], p<0.00001) and OS (HR 0.74 [0.62-0.88], p=0.0008), clinical benefit being restricted to combining EGFR-TKI with pemetrexed, but not docetaxel. Grade 3-4 toxicity was found at significantly higher incidence in the combined regimen arm. Conclusions: Continuation of EGFR-TKI in addition to chemotherapy after first-line EGFR-TKI resistance should be avoided. Combination therapy of EGFR-TKI and pemetrexed for advanced NSCLC should be further investigated for prognostic and predictive factors to find the group with the highest benefit of the combination strategy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.103-109
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• 2013

Background: The objective of this study is to determine knowledge about lung cancer among secondary school male teachers in Kudat, Sabah, Malaysia. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among three secondary schools located in Kudat district, Sabah, Malaysia during the period from June until September 2012. The protocol of this study was approved by ethics committee of Management and Science University, Malaysia. The aims were explained and a consent form was signed by each participant. Respondents were chosen randomly from each school with the help of the headmasters. Self-administrated questionnaires, covering socio-demographic characteristics and general knowledge of lung cancer, were distributed. Once all 150 respondents completed the questionnaire, they passed it to their head master for collecting and recording. All the data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 13. ANOVA and t-test were applied for univariate analysis; and multiple linear regression for multivariate analysis. Results: A total of 150 male secondary school teachers participated in this study. Their mean age was $35.6{\pm}6.5$ (SD); maximum 50 and minimum 23 years old. More than half of the participants were Malay and married (52%, 79%; respectively). Regarding the knowledge about lung cancer, 57.3% of the participants mentioned that only males are affected by lung cancer. Some 70.7% mentioned that lung cancer can be transmitted from one person to another. More than half (56.7%) reported that lung cancer is not the leading cause of death in Malaysian males. As for risk factors, the majority reported that family history of lung cancer is not involved. However, 91.3% were aware that cigarettes are the main risk factor of lung cancer and more than half (52%) believed that second-hand smoking is one of the risk factor of lung cancer. More than half (51.3%) were not aware that asbestos, ionizing radiation and other cancer causing substances are risk factors for lung cancer. Quitting smoking, avoiding second-hand smoking and avoiding unnecessary x-ray image of the chest (53.3%, 96.0%, 87.3%; respectively) are the main preventive measures mentioned by the participants. For the factors that influence the participants knowledge, univariate and multivariate analysis showed that only race was significant. Conclusions: Overall, the knowledge of school male teachers about lung cancer was low. However, few items were scored high: cigarettes are the main risk factor; avoiding second-hand smoking; and avoiding x-rays. Interventions to increase lung cancer awareness are needed to improve early detection behavior. Increase the price of pack of cigarettes to RM 20 and banning smoking in public places such as restaurants are highly recommended as primary preventive measures.