• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• v.56 no.4
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• pp.325-334
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• 2018

Toxoplasma gondii is an apicomplexan zoonotic protozoan parasite that infects most species of warm-blooded animals, including humans. The heavy incidence and severe or lethal damage caused by T. gondii infection clearly indicate a need for the development of an effective vaccine. T. gondii GRA8 is a member of the dense granules protein family and is used as a marker of acute infection. In the present study, we evaluated the protective immunity induced by DNA vaccination based on a recombinant eukaryotic plasmid, pDsRed2-GRA8, against acute toxoplasmosis in mice. BALB/c mice were intramuscularly immunized with the pDsRed2-GRA8 plasmid and then challenged by infection with the highly virulent GFP-RH strain of T. gondii. The specific immune responses and protective efficacy against T. gondii of this vaccine were analyzed by measuring cytokine and serum antibody titers, splenocyte proliferation assays, and the survival times of mice after challenge. Our results showed that mice immunized with pDsRed2-GRA8 demonstrated specific humoral and cellular responses, induced higher IgG antibody titers with predominant IgG2a production; increased levels of IL-10, IL-12 (p70), $IFN-{\gamma}$, $TNF-{\alpha}$, and splenocyte proliferation; and prolonged survival times compared to those of control mice. The present study showed that DNA immunization with pDsRed2-GRA8 induced humoral and cellular immune responses, and all immunized mice showed greater Th1-type immune responses and longer survival times than those of control mice. These results indicated that T. gondii GRA8 DNA immunization induces a partial protective effect against acute toxoplasmosis.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.35 no.10
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• pp.3071-3076
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• 2014

Proteomic analyses of the excretory/secretory proteins from the RH strain of Toxoplasma gondii have been performed to understand their functions in the host-parasite interaction. A total of 34 proteins were identified from LC/MS/MS analysis and their abundance was estimated by spectral counting methods. Among them, 8 species of micronemal proteins (MICs), 2 species of rhoptry proteins (ROPs), and 6 species of dense granular proteins (GRAs) were confirmed. Besides these, 18 species of protein were newly identified, and their cellular functions were estimated from sequence analysis. The three most abundant of the 34 identified extractor/secretory proteins-GRA1, GRA7 and GRA2-were confirmed to be highly expressed in T. gondii using the spectral count method. This phenomenon is another demonstration of the importance of GRA proteins for the penetration and survival of T. gondii.

• Mycobiology
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• v.48 no.3
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• pp.195-203
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• 2020

Marine yeasts have tremendous potential in industrial applications but have received less attention than terrestrial yeasts and marine filamentous fungi. In this study, we have screened marine yeasts for amylolytic activity and identified an amylase-producing strain PH-Gra1 isolated from sea algae. PH-Gra1 formed as a coral-red colony on yeast-peptone-dextrose (YPD) agar; the maximum radial growth was observed at 22 ℃, pH 6.5 without addition of NaCl to the media. Based on the morphology and phylogenetic analyses derived from sequences of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and a D1/D2 domain of large subunit of ribosomal DNA, PH-Gra1 was designated Sporidiobolus pararoseus. S. pararoseus is frequently isolated from marine environments and known to produce lipids, carotenoids, and several enzymes. However, its amylolytic activity, particularly the optimum conditions for enzyme activity and stability, has not been previously characterized in detail. The extracellular crude enzyme of PH-Gra1 displayed its maximum amylolytic activity at 55 ℃, pH 6.5, and 0%-3.0% (w/v) NaCl under the tested conditions, and the activity increased with time over the 180-min incubation period. In addition, the crude enzyme hydrolyzed potato starch more actively than corn and wheat starch, and was stable at temperatures ranging from 15 ℃ to 45 ℃ for 2 h. This report provides a basis for additional studies of marine yeasts that will facilitate industrial applications.

• Journal of the Korea Convergence Society
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• v.10 no.11
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• pp.149-159
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• 2019

Six sigma is an innovative management movement which provides improved business process by adapting the paradigm and the trend of market and customers. Suitable selection of six sigma project could highly reduce the costs, improve the quality, and enhance the customer satisfaction. There are existing studies on the selection of Six Sigma projects, but few studies have been conducted to select the correct project under an incomplete information environment. The purpose of this study is to propose the application of integrated MCDM techniques for correct project selection under incomplete information. The project selection process of six sigma involves four steps as follows: 1) determination of project selection criteria 2) calculation of relative importance of team member's competencies 3) assessment with project preference scale 4) finalization of ranking the projects. This study proposes the combination methods by applying group fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), an easy defuzzified number of Trapezoidal Fuzzy Number (TrFN) and Grey Relational Analysis (GRA). Both of the weight of project selection criteria and the relative importance of team member's competencies can be evaluated by group fuzzy AHP. Project preferences are assessed by easy defuzzified scale of TrFN in case of incomplete information.)

• Journal of Korean Society of Industrial and Systems Engineering
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• v.38 no.2
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• pp.82-90
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• 2015

Location selection of distribution centers is a crucial task for logistics operators and key decision makers of an organization. This is a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) process which includes both quantitative and qualitative criteria. In order to propose an optimized location selection model, this research suggests a hierarchical group of evaluation criteria : 5 major criteria with 15 sub-criteria. The MCDM approach presented in this research, by integrating Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) with Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), tends to rectify the overall quality and uncertainty of the values of evaluation criteria. An example of a location selection case in Korea is illustrated in this study to show the effectiveness of this method.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.27 no.8
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• pp.805-818
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• 1994

This study investigated the effect of enteral nutrition supplementation on glucose and lipid metabolism in non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus(NIDDM) patients(n=29). Nutrition formula(400kcal/day) were supplied daily for eight weeks as a substitute for a snack or a meal. Subjects were divided into three groups based on changes of fasting blood glucose(FBG), glucose response area(GRA) on oral glucose tolerance test(OGTT), before and after intake of nutrition formula : group 1(the group of a decrease in FBG and GRA, n=20), group 2(the group of a decrease in FBG and an increase in GRA, n=4), and group 3(the group of an increase in FBF and GRA, n=5). Before nutrition supplementation, group 3 showed a longer tendency of DM duration and a lower tendency of insulin and C-peptide response are than those of group 1 and 2. At 8 weeks after nutrition supplementation, group 1 showed a significant increase in insulin and C-peptide response areas but group 2 and 3 showed no change in those areas. After nutrition supplementation, all three groups showed a tendency of decrease in glycated hemoglobin and no significant changes in the levels of serum triglycerides, HDL, LDL, total cholesterol, albumin, transferrin, creatinine, GOT and GPT. The results suggest that using an enteral nutrition formula in NIDDM patients is a good substitute for a meal or snack and could improve blood glucose control without any changes in lipid levels, and liver and kidney functions. The beneficial effect of nutrition supplementation on glycemic control resulted from components of nutrition formula had such as additional fiber and high monounsaturated fatty acid as the source of fat to be helpful 세 glycemic control in diabetics.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.2178-2184
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• 2015

With the development of wireless network technologies, mobile users may use various networks easily and expect more advanced services. On the other hand, it may bring on some problems with network resource management that should lead the service provider to improve the current service quality and manage the network resource efficiently. This paper proposes the optimized radio resource management (RRM) scheme that integrates the Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) and game theory. The first applies the GRA to determine the Grey Relation Coefficient (GRC) factors that represent the network preference, and the network provider then selects the requested service that provide maximum payoff through Nash Equilibrium. Six requested services that have one application service among four different types of service classes were considered and the game was played repeatedly. In WiMAX, WLAN 1 and WLAN 2 game, the maximum payoff of each players was 93, 90.6 and 92.8 respectively. The experimental results show that every requested service can be selected by the network provider. Consequently, the proposed radio resource management mechanism is more effective in heterogeneous wireless networks.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.40.1-40.10
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• 2018

Objectives: This study evaluated the microtensile bond strength (${\mu}TBS$) of polymer-ceramic and indirect composite resin with 3 classes of resin cements. Materials and Methods: Two computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM)-fabricated polymer-ceramics (Enamic [ENA; Vita] and Lava Ultimate [LAV; 3M ESPE]) and a laboratory indirect composite resin (Gradia [GRA; GC Corp.]) were equally divided into 6 groups (n = 18) with 3 classes of resin cements: Variolink N (VAR; Vivadent), RelyX U200 (RXU; 3M ESPE), and Panavia F2 (PAN; Kuraray). The ${\mu}TBS$ values were compared between groups by 2-way analysis of variance and the post hoc Tamhane test (${\alpha}=0.05$). Results: Restorative materials and resin cements significantly influenced ${\mu}TBS$ (p < 0.05). In the GRA group, the highest ${\mu}TBS$ was found with RXU ($27.40{\pm}5.39N$) and the lowest with VAR ($13.54{\pm}6.04N$) (p < 0.05). Similar trends were observed in the ENA group. In the LAV group, the highest ${\mu}TBS$ was observed with VAR ($27.45{\pm}5.84N$) and the lowest with PAN ($10.67{\pm}4.37N$) (p < 0.05). PAN had comparable results to those of ENA and GRA, whereas the ${\mu}TBS$ values were significantly lower with LAV (p = 0.001). The highest bond strength of RXU was found with GRA ($27.40{\pm}5.39N$, p = 0.001). PAN showed the lowest ${\mu}TBS$ with LAV ($10.67{\pm}4.37N$; p < 0.001). Conclusions: When applied according to the manufacturers' recommendations, the ${\mu}TBS$ of polymer-ceramic CAD/CAM materials and indirect composites is influenced by the luting cements.

• Advances in materials Research
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• v.5 no.2
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• pp.67-80
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• 2016

The objective of the present work is to optimize process parameters namely, cutting speed, feed rate, and depth of cut in milling of AISI 304 stainless steel. In this work, experiments were carried out as per the Taguchi experimental design and an $L_{27}$ orthogonal array was used to study the influence of various combinations of process parameters on surface roughness (Ra) and material removal rate (MRR). As a dynamic approach, the multiple response optimization was carried out using grey relational analysis (GRA) and desirability function analysis (DFA) for simultaneous evaluation. These two methods are considered in optimization, as both are multiple criteria evaluation and not much complicated. The optimum process parameters found to be cutting speed at 63 m/min, feed rate at 600 mm/min, and depth of cut at 0.8 mm. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to classify the significant parameters affecting the responses. The results indicate that depth of cut is the most significant parameter affecting multiple response characteristics of GFRP composites followed by feed rate and cutting speed. The experimental results for the optimal setting show that there is considerable improvement in the process.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.130-144
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• 2013

In this study, we examined the effect of high temperature of urban area on the physiological response of apple tree including the photosynthesis, shoot growth, and fruit quality of 'Fuji'/M.9 apple trees planted at Daegu urban area (DUA) and Gunwi rural area (GRA) for 2 years (2009-2010). During the apple growing season (April-October), the average air temperature of DUA was about $3.0^{\circ}C$ higher than that of GRA and the total rainfall of DUA was 130 mm more than that of GRA. During fruit enlargement stage (June-August), the number of days that recorded daily mean temperature of over $30^{\circ}C$ were ten on DUA in 2010, but there was no day when such temperature was experienced in 2009. Average air temperature of DUA during the maturation stage (September-October) was $19.8^{\circ}C$, which was $4.0^{\circ}C$ higher than that of GRA. The higher temperature of over $30^{\circ}C$ during fruit enlargement stage decreased the photosynthetic rate, shoot growth, fruit weight, and soluble solid content of 'Fuji'/M.9 apple tree. The moderate temperature of about $20^{\circ}C$ during maturation stage increased the photosynthetic rate and soluble solid content of 'Fuji'/M.9 apple tree, but decreased fruit red color. In regional comparison with GRA, photosynthetic rate of DUA was changed from lower before rainy season to higher after rainy season. Fruit weight was higher in DUA than that of GRA. However, fruit weight between DUA and GRA did not show the difference when accumulated days that recorded daily maximum temperature over $35^{\circ}C$ of DUA was increased. Compared to the GRA, soluble solid content of DUA was higher, but fruit red color of DUA was less. These results indicate that the poor red coloring is the most problematic in 'Fuji'/M.9 apple tree by global warming and urbanization.