• Title/Summary/Keyword: Disease protection

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A Differential Privacy Approach to Preserve GWAS Data Sharing based on A Game Theoretic Perspective

  • Yan, Jun;Han, Ziwei;Zhou, Yihui;Lu, Laifeng
    • KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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    • v.16 no.3
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    • pp.1028-1046
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    • 2022
  • Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) aim to find the significant genetic variants for common complex disease. However, genotype data has privacy information such as disease status and identity, which make data sharing and research difficult. Differential privacy is widely used in the privacy protection of data sharing. The current differential privacy approach in GWAS pays no attention to raw data but to statistical data, and doesn't achieve equilibrium between utility and privacy, so that data sharing is hindered and it hampers the development of genomics. To share data more securely, we propose a differential privacy preserving approach of data sharing for GWAS, and achieve the equilibrium between privacy and data utility. Firstly, a reasonable disturbance interval for the genotype is calculated based on the expected utility. Secondly, based on the interval, we get the Nash equilibrium point between utility and privacy. Finally, based on the equilibrium point, the original genotype matrix is perturbed with differential privacy, and the corresponding random genotype matrix is obtained. We theoretically and experimentally show that the method satisfies expected privacy protection and utility. This method provides engineering guidance for protecting GWAS data privacy.

Baseline Sensitivity and Monitoring for the Resistance to Benomyl of Fusarium Species Causing Bakanae Disease in Korea (국내 벼 키다리병균의 Benomyl 약제에 대한 감수성 기준 및 저항성 변화)

  • Choi, Hyo-Won;Lee, Yong Hwan;Hong, Sung Kee;Lee, Young Kee;Lee, Jae Guem;Kim, Hyo Won
    • The Korean Journal of Mycology
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    • v.43 no.4
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    • pp.260-266
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    • 2015
  • To examine the changes in resistance to benomyl of Fusarium species causing bakanae disease, Fusarium isolates were collected in Korea, and pathogenicity tests were performed using rice seeds in vitro. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and effective concentration of 50% ($EC_{50}$) values of isolates were examined using the agar dilution method. High frequency distribution of MIC values to benomyl against isolates collected in 2006~2007 and 2013~2014 years were $1.5625{\sim}3.125{\mu}g/mL$ and more than $25{\mu}g/mL$, respectively. The mean $EC_{50}$ value of isolates to benomyl increased from $1.6397{\mu}g/mL$ in 2006~2007 to $2.4892{\mu}g/mL$ in 2013~2014. Based on MIC and $EC_{50}$ values of isolates, the moderate resistance of benomyl were determined as more than $25{\mu}g/mL$ of MIC and less $2.4{\mu}g/mL$ of $EC_{50}$ value, and resistant isolates to benomyl were determined as more than $2.4{\mu}g/mL$ of $EC_{50}$ value. Compared with the ratio of resistant isolates in 2006~2007, the ratio of resistance isolates in 2013~2014 increased from 12.5% to 36.4%. In addition, multiple resistant isolates to prochloraz as well as benomyl increased to 20.3% in 2013~2014.

A Study on the Quality of Healthcare Services for Four Critical Illnesses and the Maintenance of Right to Protection and Dignity in a Senior General Hospital (상급종합병원의 4대 중증질환 의료 서비스 품질과 보호받을 권리 및 존엄성 유지에 관한 연구)

  • Woojin Lee;Minsuk Shin
    • Journal of Korean Society for Quality Management
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    • v.51 no.4
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    • pp.531-550
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    • 2023
  • Purpose: The unique nature of life-and-death healthcare services sets them apart from other service industries. While many studies exist on the relationship between healthcare services and customer satisfaction, most of them focus on mildly ill patients, ignoring the differences between critically ill and non-seriously ill patients. This study discusses the actual quality of healthcare services for patients who are facing life-threatening illnesses and are on life support, as well as their right to protection and dignity. Methods: The survey conducted to 149 patients with the four major illnesses: cancer, heart disease, brain disease and rare and incurable disease, those who have experiences with senior general hospitals. Results: The basic statistics of this study are adequate to represent the four major critical illnesses, and the reliability and validity of this study's hypotheses, which were measured by multiple items, were analyzed, and the internal consistency was judged to be high. In addition, it was found that the convergent validity was good and the discriminant validity was also secured. When examining the goodness of fit of the hypotheses, the SRMR, which is the standardized root mean square of residuals that measures the difference between the covariance matrix of the data variables and the theoretical covariance matrix structure of the model, met the optimal criteria. Conclusion: The academic implications of this study are differentiated from other studies by moving away from evaluating the quality of healthcare services for mildly ill patients and focusing on the rights and dignity of patients with life-threatening illnesses in four senior general hospitals. In terms of academic implications, this study enriches the depth of related studies by demonstrating the right to protection and dignity as a factor of patient-centeredness based on physical environment quality, interaction quality, and outcome quality, which are presented as sub-factors of healthcare quality. We found that the three quality factors classified by Brady and Cronin (2001) are optimized for healthcare quality assessment and management, and that the results of patients' interaction quality assessment can be used to provide a comprehensive quality rating for hospitals. Health and human rights are inextricably linked, so assessing the degree to which rights and dignity are protected can be a superior and more comprehensive measurement tool than traditional health level measures for healthcare organizations. Practical implications: Improving the quality of the physical environment and the quality of outcomes is an important challenge for hospital managers who attract patients with life and death conditions, but given the scale and economics of time, money, and human inputs, improving the quality of interactions and defining them as performance indicators in hospital quality management is an efficient way to create maximum value in the short term.

Molecular Mechanism of Plant Growth Promotion and Induced Systemic Resistance to Tobacco Mosaic Virus by Bacillus spp.

  • Wang, Shuai;Wu, Huijun;Qiao, Junqing;Ma, Lingli;Liu, Jun;Xia, Yanfei;Gao, Xuewen
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.19 no.10
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    • pp.1250-1258
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    • 2009
  • Bacillus spp., as a type of plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), were studied with regards promoting plant growth and inducing plant systemic resistance. The results of greenhouse experiments with tobacco plants demonstrated that treatment with the Bacillus spp. significantly enhanced the plant height and fresh weight, while clearly lowering the disease severity rating of the tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) at 28 days post-inoculation (dpi). The TMV accumulation in the young non-inoculated leaves was remarkably lower for all the plants treated with the Bacillus spp. An RT-PCR analysis of the signaling regulatory genes Coil and NPR1, and defense genes PR-1a and PR-1b, in the tobacco treated with the Bacillus spp. revealed an association with enhancing the systemic resistance of tobacco to TMV. A further analysis of two expansin genes that regulate plant cell growth, NtEXP2 and NtEXP6, also verified a concomitant growth promotion in the roots and leaves of the tobacco responding to the Bacillus spp.

AbSte7, a MAPKK Gene of Alternaria brassicicola, Is Involved in Conidiation, Salt/Oxidative Stress, and Pathogenicity

  • Xu, Houjuan;Zhang, Qianqian;Cui, Wenjuan;Zhang, Xiaofei;Liu, Weiyang;Zhang, Li;Islam, Md. Nurul;Baek, Kwang-Hyun;Wang, Yujun
    • Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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    • v.26 no.7
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    • pp.1311-1319
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    • 2016
  • Alternaria brassicicola (Schwein.) invades Brassicaceae and causes black spot disease, significantly lowering productivity. Mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) and their upstream kinases, including MAPK kinases (MAPKKs) and MAPKK kinases (MAPKKK), comprise one of the most important signaling pathways determining the pathogenicity of diverse plant pathogens. The AbSte7 gene in the genome of A. brassicicola was predicted to be a homolog of yeast Ste7, a MAPKK; therefore, the function was characterized by generating null mutant strains with a gene replacement method. AbSte7 replacement mutants (RMs) had a slower growth rate and altered colony morphology compared with the wild-type strain. Disruption of the AbSte7 gene resulted in defects in conidiation and melanin accumulation. AbSte7 was also involved in the resistance pathways in salt and oxidative stress, working to negatively regulate salt tolerance and positively regulate oxidative stress. Pathogenicity assays revealed that AbSte7 RMs could not infect intact cabbage leaves, but only formed very small lesions in wounded leaves, whereas typical lesions appeared on both intact and wounded leaves inoculated with the wild-type strain. As the first studied MAPKK in A. brassicicola, these data strongly suggest that the AbSte7 gene is an essential element for the growth, development, and pathogenicity of A. brassicicola.

Custom-Made ITE Type Hearing Protection Device Using a Small Acoustic Filter

  • Lee, Yun-Jung;Kim, Pil-Un;Jung, Young-Jin;Chang, Yong-Min;Cho, Jin-Ho;Kim, Myoung-Nam
    • Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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    • v.27 no.6
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    • pp.376-383
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    • 2006
  • Noise induced hearing loss (NIHS), the well-known occupational disease, is caused by continuous excessive noise. The prevention of NIHS is very important, because it is unrecoverable. There are some kinds of hearing protection device (HPD), and those are effective in preventing NIHS. But workers in noisy environment often resist to wearing them. Because they are ready - made products, so workers feel uncomfortable to wear. Also, they didn't maintain the conversation frequency range, so workers are hard to communicate in wearing them. To prevent hearing loss effectively, it is important that workers keep wearing HPD. Therefore, a HPD is needed to be comfortable to wear and be effective not only in hearing protection but also in preserving communication ability. So we proposed a custom - made hearing protection device in which a small acoustic filter is inserted. We designed several kinds of small acoustic filters and carried out some acoustic experiments for measuring characteristics of filters. We confirmed that acoustic transmission characteristic can be adjusted from experimental results using designed small acoustic filters. And we researched for the actual efficiency of a new developed custom - made hearing protection device using a small size acoustic filter. Also, we found out that workers are more satisfied with the new development than a former protection device from a workers' response.

A research on the selection of subject and its legal and institutional guarantee concerning protection of the intellectual property of traditional medicine (전통의약분야의 지적 재산권 보호를 위한 대상 발굴 및 법적.제도적 보장 방안 연구)

  • Kim, Hong-Jun;Lee, Sang-Jung;Ju, Young-Sung
    • Korean Journal of Oriental Medicine
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    • v.8 no.2 s.9
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    • pp.47-65
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    • 2002
  • This project is planned to grasp the present situation of traditional medicine part in our country and to study protection method about this by the intellectual property which is the international concerning point recently. Through this, we will be able to devise means to deal with protection method of traditional medicine being developed by WIPO now. Traditional medicine field In our country Is organized with specific condition separated into the part of institution and the part of non-institution. So, because of the closed peculiarity, we have experienced the difficulties to understand the real facts about traditional medicine. We cannot be indifferent to the matter anymore. Because the expectation of object people is high, we could expect the realization of research content. In 1 detail project, we investigated the situation of traditional medicine in our country through various collecting methods for excavation of oriental treatment technique and herb medicine which is worth protecting. With it, we sorted again into 56 kinds of 11 parts through analysis of validity in the way of oriental medicine. And we tried to link this up 2 detail project which is about legal and institutional guarantee concerning protection. furthermore, we tried to find approach ways for security of objectivity into 4 steps with the example of model disease. we could complete practical classification of traditional medicine in our country. In 2 detail project, we studied the protection method by the intellectual property through research result in 1 detail project. For this, we observed an outline of the intellectual property including a patent application analysis in folk traditional medicine part, and problems of traditional medicine protection and world trend by traditional knowledge protection tendency and the patent law In domestic traditional medicines, the aspects unprotectable with the patent law now were remained. So, we suggested supplementary plan. And we also suggested the freedom of utilization between traditional medicine possession countries (in-situ utilization) and the demand compensation payment for a third country (ex-situ utilization) in connection with international movement.

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The IRPA Young Generation Network: Activity Report from the Middle of 2018 to the Beginning of 2021

  • Andresz, Sylvain;Sakoda, Akihiro;Ha, Wi-Ho;Kabrt, Franz;Kono, Takahiko;Munoz, Marina Saez;Nusrat, Omar;Papp, Cinthia;Qiu, Rui;Bryant, Pete
    • Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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    • v.46 no.3
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    • pp.143-150
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    • 2021
  • Since its establishment in 2018, the Young Generation Network (YGN) has been dedicated, with support of the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA), to a variety of activities to promote communication, collaboration and professional development of students and young professionals in the area of radiation protection and its allied fields. This article reports our recent activities from the middle of 2018 to the beginning of 2021, with highlights on some important events: "Joint JHPS-SRP-KARP Workshop of Young Generation Network" (December 2019 in Japan); contribution to "Nuclear Energy Agency Workshop on Optimization: Rethinking the Art of Reasonable" (January 2020 in Portugal); survey on the impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on radiation protection among IRPA YGN members (March 2020); and contribution to IRPA15 (15th International Congress of the IRPA; January-February 2021, online). The discussion and insight obtained from each activity are also summarized. The IRPA YGN will aim to achieve its on-going activities and continue to follow the ways paved in the Strategic Agenda and despite the challenges raised by the COVID-19 pandemic. Namely, running an international survey (for example, on the usage of social media in radiation protection, and on the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic), engaging national YGNs, extending the network, finding new relationships with networks with an interest in the young generation and participation in (remote) events will be aspired for.

Induced Resistance in Tomato Plants Against Fusarium Wilt Invoked by Nonpathogenic Fusarium, Chitosan and Bion

  • Amini, J.
    • The Plant Pathology Journal
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    • v.25 no.3
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    • pp.256-262
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    • 2009
  • The potential of. nonpathogenic Fusarium oxysporum strain Avr5, either alone or in combination with chitosan and Bion, for inducing defense reaction in tomato plants inoculated with F. oxysporum f. sp lycopersici, was studied in vitro and glasshouse conditions. Application Bion at concentration of 5, 50, 100 and $500{\mu}g$/ml, and the highest concentration of chitosan reduced in vitro growth of the pathogen. Nonpathogenic F. oxysporum Avr5 reduced the disease severity of Fusarium wilt of tomato in split plants, significantly. Bion and chitosan applied on tomato seedlings at concentration $100{\mu}g$ a.i./plant; 15, 10 and 5 days before inoculation of pathogen. All treatments significantly reduced disease severity of Fusarium wilt of tomato relative to the infected control. The biggest disease reduction and increasing tomato growth belong to combination of nonpathogenic Fusarium and Bion. Growth rate of shoot and root markedly inhibited in tomato plants in response to tomato Fusarium wilt as compared with healthy control. These results suggest that reduction in disease incidence and promotion in growth parameters in tomato plants inoculated with nonpathogenic Fusarium and sprayed with elicitors could be related to the synergistic and cooperative effect between them, which lead to the induction and regulation of disease resistance. Combination of elicitors and non-pathogenic Fusarium synergistically inhibit the growth of pathogen and provide the first experimental support to the hypothesis that such synergy can contribute to enhanced fungal resistance in tomato. This chemical could provide a new approach for suppression of tomato Fusarium wilt, but its practical use needs further investigation.

Fusarium oxysporum Protects Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) Seedlings from Root Disease Caused by Fusarium commune

  • Dumroese, R. Kasten;Kim, Mee-Sook;James, Robert L.
    • The Plant Pathology Journal
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    • v.28 no.3
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    • pp.311-316
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    • 2012
  • Fusarium root disease can be a serious problem in forest and conservation nurseries in the western United States. Fusarium inoculum is commonly found in most container and bareroot nurseries on healthy and diseased seedlings, in nursery soils, and on conifer seeds. Fusarium spp. within the F. oxysporum species complex have been recognized as pathogens for more than a century, but attempts to distinguish virulence by correlating morphological characteristics with results of pathogenicity tests were unsuccessful. Recent molecular characterization and pathogenicity tests, however, revealed that selected isolates of F. oxysporum are benign on Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) seedlings. Other morphologically indistinguishable isolates, which can be virulent, were identified as F. commune, a recently described species. In a replicated greenhouse study, inoculating Douglas-fir seedlings with one isolate of F. oxysporum prevented expression of disease caused by a virulent isolate of F. commune. Moreover, seedling survival and growth was unaffected by the presence of the F. oxysporum isolate, and this isolate yielded better biological control than a commercial formulation of Bacillus subtilis. These results demonstrate that an isolate of nonpathogenic F. oxysporum can effectively reduce Fusarium root disease of Douglas-fir caused by F. commune under nursery settings, and this biological control approach has potential for further development.