• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6121-6125
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• 2014

Background: Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) is a potential biomarker for early detection of prostate cancer (PCa) but its level is known to be affected by many background factors and roles of ubiquitous toxicants have not been determined. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are ubiquitous reproductive toxicants used in consumer products, which promote tumor formation in some reproductive model systems by binding to AhR, but human data on its expression in prostate cancer as well as its association with PSA levels are not clear. This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of AhR and its association with serological levels of PSA and to detect possible effects of background factors and EDC exposure history on PSA levels in PCa cases. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on the tissue levels of AhR and serum levels of PSA in 53 PCa cases from 2008-2011 and associations between each and background and lifestyle related factors were determined. Results: Although the AhR was overexpressed in PCa and correlated with the age of patients, it did not correlate with PSA levels.Of nutritional factors, increased intake of polysaturated fats and fish in the routine regimen of PCa cases increased the PSA levels significantly. Conclusions: AhR overexpression in PCa pontws to roles of EDCs in PCa but without any direct association with PSA levels. However, PSA levels are affected by exposure to possible toxicants in foods whichneed to be assessed as possible risk factors of PCa in future studies.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.4815-4818
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• 2013

Background: Atrophic epithelium of cervix sampled from postmenopausal women may mimic high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in Papanicolaou-stained (Pap) smears. Ki-67 (MIB-1) protein presents on proliferating cells, and percentage of cells with positive nuclei provides a reliable tool for rapid evaluation of the growth fraction. The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of protein Ki67 staining in atypical pap smears of postmenopausal women. Methods: In a case-control setting, pap smears of 75 women with an atypical pap smear (case group) and 75 with normal pap smears (controls) were obtained before and after estrogen treatment. Afterward, samples were exposed to the monoclonal antibody Ki-67 (MIB-1) and the immunohistochemically demonstrated Ki-67+ cells were compared. Results: Mean ages of cases and controls were $60.4{\pm}4.5$ and $59.9{\pm}4.3$ years respectively (P=0.50). There was one (2.7%) positive Ki-67 specimen in the case group, without any positive Ki-67 specimen in the control group (P=0.50). Conclusions: Measurement of proliferative activity index in Pap smears restrained with MIB1 is a simple, reliable, and cost-effective method for excluding negatives. This would imply that it might allow a substantial reduction of diagnostic estrogen courses and subsequent Pap smears in postmenopausal women with atypical findings.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.29-59
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• 2019

As 'a total social fact,' drinks and drinking may serve as a lens through which we can view a distant society. Although not frequently discussed, drinking vessels serve the same function for accessing a past world hidden or forgotten behind written records. The present article is an art history attempt to seek a cultural link between liquor vessels used in medieval Korea and the political and social change of the period. The Goryeo period (918-1392) saw an unprecedented abundance of drinking vessels in various forms and decorations. Goryeo artisans and craftsmen produced ewers, pitchers, flasks, bottles, and others in addition to the pre-existing shapes of vessels mainly consisting of jars and bowls. I argue that this sudden burst of creativity during the Goryeo period was closely related to Goryeo's constant and diverse contacts with foreign powers. Their zone of international connections was not confined to the Chinese world, as we have commonly presumed. Even before the Mongol intervention, Goryeo was in contact with regions beyond East Asia through the northern nomadic states. Khitan Liao was recorded as having worked as a kind of international intermediary to link the Chinese and Islamic worlds. This medieval global culture became a norm in Goryeo society when it became an important part of the Mongol Empire. These nomadic powers brought global trends to Goryeo, and foreign drinks were among them; kumis, araq, and grape wines are just three cases of them discussed in this article. The change of alcoholic drinks led to, or was accompanied by, a new range of drinking vessels. Three types of ewers, familiar to East Asian consumers but foreign in their origin, are discussed in the main text to highlight such social change. Three more cases of drinking cups are also presented. The article shows that medieval Korean society was far more open to international art and culture than our usual understanding, and in their drinking vessels, Goryeo culture embraced global trends reaching China, the Islamic world and Europe.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.77 no.1
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• pp.115-135
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• 2021

This paper focuses on examining the effects of span arrangements on displacement responses of plan-symmetric RC frame buildings designed using the direct displacement-based design (DDBD) method by employing non-linear analyses and the skew seismic attack. In order to show the desired performance of DDBD design approach, the force-based design approach is also used to examine the seismic performance of the selected structures. To realize this objective, 8-story buildings with different plans are selected. In addition, the dynamic behavior of the structures is evaluated by selecting 3, 7, and 12-story buildings. In order to perform non-linear analyses, OpenSees software is used for modeling buildings. Results of an experimental model are used to validate the analytical model implemented in OpenSees. The results of non-linear static and non-linear dynamic analyses indicate that changing span arrangements does not affect estimating the responses of structures designed using the DDBD approach, and the results are more or less the same. Next, in order to apply the earthquake in non-principle directions, DDBD structures, designed for one-way performance, are designed again for two-way performance. Time history analyses are performed under a set of artificial acceleration pairs, applied to structures at different angles. It is found that the mean maximum responses of earthquakes at all angles have very good agreement with the design-acceptable limits, while the response of buildings along the height direction has a relatively acceptable and uniform distribution. Meanwhile, changes in the span arrangements did not have a significant effect on displacement responses.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.7 no.1
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• pp.53-82
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• 2022

The Hebrew word for silk, meshi, is mentioned in the Bible only once and there is a possibility that the item to which it referred was made of local wild silk. Although Jewish historical sources from the Roman and Byzantine periods mention silk many times, only a few silk textiles have been discovered at a sited dated to the Byzantine period (4^th-7^th centuries CE). The word "silk" occurs in the New Testament, although only once. A turning point in the history of the Negev (Southern Israel) occurred around 400 CE when it underwent a period of prosperity related to the advent of Christianity and pilgrimage, which enabled the purchase of imported silk textiles. The Early Islamic period (7-8th centuries CE) yielded four (out of 310) silk textiles from Nahal 'Omer on the Spice Routes joining Petra, in the Edom Mountains of modern Jordan, and the mercantile outlets on the Mediterranean Sea, notably Gaza and El Arish. The most important silk textile assemblage in the Southern Levant was found near Jericho at Qarantal Cave 38 and dates to the medieval period (9th-13th centuries CE). Linen textiles decorated with silk tapestry originating in Egypt date back to the 10-11th centuries CE. Mulham textiles - silk warp with hidden cotton wefts - were discovered in the medieval fortress on Jazirat Fara'un (Coral Island) in the Red Sea, 14 kilometers south of Elat and today located in Egypt. Mulham is mentioned in literary sources of the ninth century in Iraq and Iran, whence it spread through the Islamic world. The article will present aspects of the origin, transmission, and exchange of these textiles.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.21 no.5
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• pp.515-530
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• 2021

In a tall reinforced concrete (RC) core wall system subjected to strong ground motions, inelastic behavior near the base as well as mid-height of the wall is possible. Generally, the formation of plastic hinge in a core wall system may lead to extensive damage and significant repairing cost. A new configuration of core structures consisting of buckling restrained braced frames (BRBFs) and RC walls is an interesting idea in tall building seismic design. This concept can be used in the plan configuration of tall core wall systems. In this study, tall buildings with different configurations of combined core systems were designed and analyzed. Nonlinear time history analysis at severe earthquake level was performed and the results were compared for different configurations. The results demonstrate that using enough BRBFs can reduce the large curvature ductility demand at the base and mid-height of RC core wall systems and also can reduce the maximum inter-story drift ratio. For a better investigation of the structural behavior, the probabilistic approach can lead to in-depth insight. Therefore, incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) curves were calculated to assess the performance. Fragility curves at different limit states were then extracted and compared. Mean IDA curves demonstrate better behavior for a combined system, compared with conventional RC core wall systems. Collapse margin ratio for a RC core wall only system and RC core with enough BRBFs were almost 1.05 and 1.92 respectively. Therefore, it appears that using one RC core wall combined with enough BRBF core is an effective idea to achieve more confidence against tall building collapse and the results demonstrated the potential of the proposed system.

• International Area Studies Review
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.155-179
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• 2013

Becoming independent in 1956, Sudan has since experienced a number of coups $d^{\prime}{\acute{e}}tat$, religious conflicts between the Islamic north and the Christian south, conflicts between the north-south population composition and races, two civil wars for nearly 40 years due to a clash of interests over resources and others, and the Darfur crisis in which hundreds of thousands died. In 1983, as the Sudanese government forced Islamic laws on the southern region where many Christians lived, the civil war resumed and suffered heavy casualties. Although a brief period of tranquility is maintained at the present moment as South Sudan seceded, military conflicts continue to arise. The objective of this research is to understand the North-South Sudan conflict by examining its history and course. For this purpose, chapter 2 will make a theoretical and reality approach for conflict items and solutions. Chapter 3 will discuss the historical background and reasons for the Sudanese conflict by considering Sudan before 19th century, the Egyptian conquest of Sudan and the diverging North and South, Sudanese independence and other divisions yet again, and finally the North-South conflicts over religion and resources. In Chapter 4, there will be an analysis of the course of the Sudan Civil War by separating it into the First and Second Civil War. In Chapter 5, the consequences and future prospect will be presented in lieu of the conclusion.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.1-23
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• 2022

The record is both an palmistry and a fingerprint for human life and world of knowledge. Books, which are synonymous with records, are a channel through which history is traced and a window to savor. And the most primitive form of the book is the classics of ancient Greece and Rome, and the best part is the manuscript. It refers to the original recorded on papyrus, parchment, paper, etc. and the translated and translated copies of them. If we reflect on the long history of knowledge and culture, the classic manuscripts have continued to scatter and collect like a river flowing through time and space due to not only natural disasters, but also artificial cultural vandalism and the bibliocaust. Therefore, this study traced and linked the wandering and library return of classic manuscripts from ancient Greece to the medieval Renaissance period. As a result, dynasties and empires, monarchs and prime ministers, generals and conquerors, nobles and wealthy, clergy and scholars concentrated on collecting and translating classical manuscripts. If the ancient Greek and Roman scholars did not record knowledge and wisdom in papyrus and parchment, the medieval Byzantine and Islamic Empires did not collect, translate and reproduce classics, the book hunters didn't keep track of the classics, the Renaissance humanists did not restore and reinterpret the classics through intellectual exodus, and the historical library did not collect and preserve the classics and their translations, modern people would not have access to classical knowledge. Nevertheless, the tracing of classical manuscripts is an aporia in which many difficulties and contradictions overlap in the tracing of classic manuscripts due to historical flow, geographical wandering, and linguistic transformation. When a new manuscript is discovered and interpreted, correction and supplementation are inevitable, so the pursuit of the wandering and return of the classic manuscripts through follow-up research must be continued.

• Earthquakes and Structures
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.649-665
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• 2020

One of the most important issues in structural systems is evaluation of the margin of safety in low and mid-rise buildings against the progressive collapse mechanism due to the earthquake loads. In this paper, modeling of collapse propagation in structural elements of RC frame buildings is evaluated by tracing down the collapse points in beam and column structural elements, one after another, under earthquake loads and the influence of column removal is investigated on how the collapse expansion in beam and column structural members. For this reason, progressive collapse phenomenon is studied in 3-story and 5-story intermediate moment resisting frame buildings due to the corner and edge column removal in presence of the earthquake loads. In this way, distribution and propagation of the collapse in progressive collapse mechanism is studied, from the first element of the structure to the collapse of a large part of the building with investigating and comparing the results of nonlinear time history analyses (NLTHA) in presence of two-component accelograms proposed by FEMA_P695. Evaluation of the results, including the statistical survey of the number and sequence of the collapsed points in process of the collapse distribution in structural system, show that the progressive collapse distribution are special and similar in low-rise and mid-rise RC buildings due to the simultaneous effects of the column removal and the earthquake loads and various patterns of the progressive collapse distribution are proposed and presented to predict the collapse propagation in structural elements of similar buildings. So, the results of collapse distribution patterns and comparing the values of collapse can be utilized to provide practical methods in codes and guidelines to enhance the structural resistance against the progressive collapse mechanism and eventually, the value of damage can be controlled and minimized in similar buildings.

• Journal of Fashion Business
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.112-124
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• 2011

Textile and clothing in Ancient Egypt have carried long history and tradition. Especially, Egyptian textile culture, created mostly by the Copt, has the originality of weaving technology and the artistic beauty of the weaving motifs, making the textiles comparable to modern textiles. The purpose of this study is to research on the characteristics of Coptic textile designs of ancient Egypt and the tunic, a basic garment made of Coptic textiles, and offer materials for the development of the textiles and designs with artistic values which can be shared in the modern era, not just for the research of the relics of the past. Therefore, this study will follow the historical background of Coptic textiles and the process of the development, and look into the distinct features under the categories of material, colors and motifs. In addition, the tunic and its weaving technology will be explained and this will help understand the originality of Coptic textiles. The scope of this study is limited to the period of the 3rd to 12th centuries when the Egyptian weaving technologies advanced dramatically and many of the ancient Egyptian textiles discovered from the grave goods dates back, the research methode of the tunic as well as books published at home and abroad, research paper and photograph works. The textiles had developed along the Egyptian history which was influenced by different cultures such as Greek, Roman, pagan, Christian, and later, Islamic. For the textiles, they used a variety of pictorial motifs including Greek goddesses, pastoral scenes related to the Nile River and animals, human figures, geometrical figures and Christian icons. They are symbolic, natural, and mythological characters, and this explains that the world views and religions of the weavers influenced the development of specific motifs. Coptic textiles was used to make a tunic, a simple straight-sided gown without sleeves worn by men and women and was woven in a combination of linen plain weave and woolen tapestry weave for a tunic. Not only the excellence of the weaving technologies and the beauty of the colors used in the textiles, but also the diversity of the textures through weaving, embroidery, and knotting are detected in Coptic textiles.