• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.59 no.1
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• pp.39-46
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• 2005

Background : Even though it has been suggested that low-colony, scotochromogen nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are usually contaminants and not true pathogens, evidence for this hypothesis has not been provided. This study investigated the colony characteristics, organism identification, and clinical significance of low-colony scotochromogen. Methods : The laboratory cultured 6,898 respiratory clinical specimens for an examination of mycobacteria over a three-month period. A low-colony count was arbitrarily defined as ${\leq}20$ colonies. This study analyzed the recovery rate of the mycobacteria, the number of colonies and their gross characteristics, and their clinical significance. PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was carried out to identify the NTM species. NTM pulmonary disease was defined according to the American Thoracic Society. Results : A total of 6,898 respiratory specimens for mycobacterium were cultured. Of these, 263 (3.8%) grew NTM, and 382 (5.5%) grew M. tuberculosis. Of the 263 cultured NTM specimens, 124 (47.1%) were scotochromogens. The smear-positive rate was significantly lower in these scotochromogens (4.8%) than in the non-scotochromogens (23.7%) (p<0.05). The most common isolates were M. gordonae (83/102, 81.4%) in the scotochromogens, and MAC (52/121, 43.0%) in the non-scotochromogens. Even though three out of 113 patients with a low-colony scotochromogen has been diagnosed with NTM pulmonary disease, the isolated scotochromogen was not considered to be the cause of the NTM disease but was just a contaminant. Conclusion : In this study, the most common isolate of a low-colony count scotochromogen was M. gordonae, which appeared to be contaminants and not true pathogens. Greater efforts in the quality control of a mycobacterium laboratory are needed in cases where there is a high recovery rate of low-colony count scotochromogen.

• Smart Structures and Systems
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.425-448
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• 2016

In this paper, a new Pigeon Colony Algorithm (PCA) based on the features of a pigeon colony flying is proposed for solving global numerical optimization problems. The algorithm mainly consists of the take-off process, flying process and homing process, in which the take-off process is employed to homogenize the initial values and look for the direction of the optimal solution; the flying process is designed to search for the local and global optimum and improve the global worst solution; and the homing process aims to avoid having the algorithm fall into a local optimum. The impact of parameters on the PCA solution quality is investigated in detail. There are low-dimensional functions, high-dimensional functions and systems of nonlinear equations that are used to test the global optimization ability of the PCA. Finally, comparative experiments between the PCA, standard genetic algorithm and particle swarm optimization were performed. The results showed that PCA has the best global convergence, smallest cycle indexes, and strongest stability when solving high-dimensional, multi-peak and complicated problems.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.512-521
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• 2016

Cascaded H-bridge multilevel (CHBML) inverters usually include a large number of isolated dc-voltage sources. Some faults in the dc-voltage sources result in unequal cell dc voltages. Unfortunately, the conventional phase-shifted carrier (PSC) PWM method that is widely used for CHBML inverters cannot eliminate low frequency sideband harmonics when the cell dc voltages are not equal. This paper analyzes the principle of sideband harmonic elimination, and proposes an improved PSCPWM that can eliminate low frequency sideband harmonics under the condition of unequal dc voltages. In order to calculate the carrier phases, it is necessary to solve transcendental equations for low frequency sideband harmonic elimination. Therefore, an approach based on the artificial bee colony (ABC) algorithm is presented in this paper. The proposed PSCPWM method enhances the reliability of CHBML inverters. The proposed PSCPWM is not limited to CHBML inverters. It can also be applied to other types of multilevel inverters. Simulation and experimental result obtained from a prototype CHBML inverter verify the theoretical analysis and the achievements made in this paper.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.96-104
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• 1997

A silkworm Bombyx mori genomic DNA library was constructed from polyphagous J111 strain and unpolyphagous $C_3$ strain to develop the genomic study by DNA makers. Genomic DNAs of two strains were digested with restriction enzyme EcoRI and ligated into pUC18. The ligated plasmids were transferred into E. coli host strain DH5$\alpha$. When the genomic DNAs were hybridized with insert DNAs from transformant, could be categorized from hybridization patterns to three groups as high repetitive sequence, moderately repetitive sequence, and low-copy number sequences. A total of 219 clones containing single or low-copy number sequence inserts were examined for any polymorphisms between two strains of J111 and $C_3$. Forty six clones showed RFLPs and 10 of these clones were used as a probe of analysis of $F_2$ population derived from crossing between J111 and $C_3$ strain. The genetic inheritance tested with each clones will be important tools to construct the genetic map of the silkworm, Bombyx mori.

• KSII Transactions on Internet and Information Systems (TIIS)
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.1111-1130
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• 2016

Cooperative communications can significantly improve the wireless transmission performance with the help of relay nodes. In cooperative communication networks, relay selection and power allocation are two key issues. In this paper, we propose a relay selection and power allocation scheme RS-PA-PSACO (Relay Selection-Power Allocation-Particle Swarm Ant Colony Optimization) based on PSACO (Particle Swarm Ant Colony Optimization) algorithm. This scheme can effectively reduce the computational complexity and select the optimal relay nodes. As one of the swarm intelligence algorithms, PSACO which combined both PSO (Particle Swarm Optimization) and ACO (Ant Colony Optimization) algorithms is effective to solve non-linear optimization problems through a fast global search at a low cost. The proposed RS-PA-PSACO algorithm can simultaneously obtain the optimal solutions of relay selection and power allocation to minimize the SER (Symbol Error Rate) with a fixed total power constraint both in AF (Amplify and Forward) and DF (Decode and Forward) modes. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme improves the system performance significantly both in reliability and power efficiency at a low complexity.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.29 no.A
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• pp.61-65
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• 2009

A colony counting on a petri-dish is a laborious task in microbiology fields that automated counting systems are needed. But lots of such systems are high price that majorities of labs rely on the manual counting and it is a time consuming and laborious job. In this study, an attempt was made to select the relative atmospheric correction method for the water quality factors extraction from the satellite image data. And also, the time-series analysis of the water quality factors was performed by using the multi-temporal image data. The result shows that the proposed method can be commercialized with low prices.

• Biomaterials Research
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.271-278
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• 2018

Background: The chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is regulated by many factors, including oxygen tensions, growth factors, and cytokines. Evidences have suggested that low oxygen tension seems to be an important regulatory factor in the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation in various MSCs. Recent studies report that synovium-derived mesenchymal stem cells (SDSCs) are a potential source of stem cells for the repair of articular cartilage defects. But, the effect of low oxygen tension on the proliferation and chondrogenic differentiation in SDSCs has not characterized. In this study, we investigated the effects of hypoxia on proliferation and chondrogenesis in SDSCs. Method: SDSCs were isolated from patients with osteoarthritis at total knee replacement. To determine the effect of oxygen tension on proliferation and colony-forming characteristics of SDSCs, A colony-forming unit (CFU) assay and cell counting-based proliferation assay were performed under normoxic (21% oxygen) or hypoxic (5% oxygen). For in vitro chondrogenic differentiation, SDSCs were concentrated to form pellets and subjected to conditions appropriate for chondrogenic differentiation under normoxia and hypoxia, followed by the analysis for the expression of genes and proteins of chondrogenesis. qRT-PCR, histological assay, and glycosoaminoglycan assays were determined to assess chondrogenesis. Results: Low oxygen condition significantly increased proliferation and colony-forming characteristics of SDSCs compared to that of SDSCs under normoxic culture. Similar pellet size and weight were found for chondrogensis period under hypoxia and normoxia condition. The mRNA expression of types II collagen, aggrecan, and the transcription factor SOX9 was increased under hypoxia condition. Histological sections stained with Safranin-O demonstrated that hypoxic conditions had increased proteoglycan synthesis. Immunohistochemistry for types II collagen demonstrated that hypoxic culture of SDSCs increased type II collagen expression. In addition, GAG deposition was significantly higher in hypoxia compared with normoxia at 21 days of differentiation. Conclusion: These findings show that hypoxia condition has an important role in regulating the synthesis ECM matrix by SDSCs as they undergo chondrogenesis. This has important implications for cartilage tissue engineering applications of SDSCs.

• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• v.7
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• pp.99-107
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• 1989

The study was conducted to obtain some basic information to establish the system of performance-tests and selection of honeybee queens(Apis mellifera) under Korean circumstances, Colony performances were tested with thirty colonies of Apis mellifera at two apiaries in Taegu, Korea from September, 1988 to August 1989. The results of performance-testing on the colonies are summarized as follows : The colony weight measured before wintering was averaged $23.6{\pm}1.90kg$ and the colony weight was decreased by $2.9{\pm}0.82kg$ in average during winter season. Thirteen colonies were entered in two story hive from thirty single box colonies from April 17 to May 5, 1989 with increase of bee population and, consequently, the ability of enter-supers of the colonies apperared to be low. The ability of collecting pollen was measured to be $14.8{\pm}2.15gr$ per colony during 24 hours in April, and the number of swarm cells was counted $12.5{\pm}3.43$ cells per colony in aveage. Tendency to use propolis appeared to be moderate, and the number of returning foragers for a minute per colony was counted $108.7{\pm}18.31$ bees in average. Brood area was measured $2,464{\pm}628,67cm^2$ per colony in the post nectar flow season of acasia, and 30.8 percent of the colonies appeared to be infected with chalkbrood disease, The amount of honey production was $14.9{\pm}8.49kg$ per colony, which was harvested two times during the main nectar flow season of acasia.

• Korean Journal of Veterinary Research
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• v.43 no.4
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• pp.633-639
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• 2003

We investigated the effect of green tea and its fractions of alcohol and polysaccharide on jejunal crypt survival, endogenous spleen colony formation, and apoptosis in jejunal crypt cells of mice irradiated with high and low dose of gamma-irradiation. Jejunal crypts were protected by pretreatment of green tea (i.p.: 50 mg/kg of body weight, at 12 and 36 hours before irradiation., p.o.: 1.25% water extract, for 7days before irradiation, p<0.01) and alcohol and polysaccharide fractions showed no significant modifying effects. Green tea and its fractions administration before irradiation (i.p. at 12 and 36hours before irradiation) resulted in an increase of the formation of endogenous spleen colony (p<0.05). The frequency of radiation-induced apoptosis in intestinal crypt cells was also reduced by pretreatment of green tea (i.p. at 12 and 36 hours before irradiation, p<0.05., p.o. for 7days before irradiation, p<0.001) and its fractions (p<0.001). These results indicated that green tea might be a useful radioprotector, especially since it is a relatively nontoxic natural product. Further studies are needed to characterize better the promotion nature of green tea and its components.

• Journal of the Institute of Electronics Engineers of Korea SD
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• v.45 no.1
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• pp.43-49
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• 2008

In this paper, a method using the Ant Colony Optimization(ACO) is proposed for reducing the power consumption of memory ECC checker circuitry which provide Single-Error Correcting and Double-Error Detecting(SEC-DED). The H-matrix which is used to generate SEC-DED codes is optimized to provide the minimum switching activity with little to no impact on area or delay using the symmetric property and degrees of freedom in constructing H-matrix of Hsiao codes. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed method can provide further reduction of power consumption compared with the previous works.