• Journal of Computing Science and Engineering
• /
• v.7 no.2
• /
• pp.99-111
• /
• 2013

Approximating a divergence between two probability distributions from their samples is a fundamental challenge in statistics, information theory, and machine learning. A divergence approximator can be used for various purposes, such as two-sample homogeneity testing, change-point detection, and class-balance estimation. Furthermore, an approximator of a divergence between the joint distribution and the product of marginals can be used for independence testing, which has a wide range of applications, including feature selection and extraction, clustering, object matching, independent component analysis, and causal direction estimation. In this paper, we review recent advances in divergence approximation. Our emphasis is that directly approximating the divergence without estimating probability distributions is more sensible than a naive two-step approach of first estimating probability distributions and then approximating the divergence. Furthermore, despite the overwhelming popularity of the Kullback-Leibler divergence as a divergence measure, we argue that alternatives such as the Pearson divergence, the relative Pearson divergence, and the $L^2$-distance are more useful in practice because of their computationally efficient approximability, high numerical stability, and superior robustness against outliers.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.5 no.2
• /
• pp.65-78
• /
• 2011

Ozone ($O_3$) is a main component of photochemical oxidants, and a phytotoxic anthropogenic air pollutant. In North America and Europe, the current concentration of $O_3$ has been shown to have significant adverse effects on vegetation. In this review, we summarize the experimental studies on the effects of $O_3$ on the growth and photosynthetic activity of Japanese forest tree species to understand the present knowledge and provide sound basis for future research toward the assessment of $O_3$ impacts on Japanese forest ecosystem. Since the 1990s, several Japanese researchers have conducted the experimental studies on the effects of ambient levels of $O_3$ on growth and physiological functions such as net photosynthesis of Japanese forest tree species. Although the sensitivity to $O_3$ of whole-plant growth is quite different among the species, it was suggested that the current ambient levels of $O_3$ in Japan are high enough to adversely affect growth and photosynthetic activity of Japanese forest tree species classified into high $O_3$ sensitivity group such as Japanese beech. The N load to soil has been shown to reduce the sensitivity to $O_3$ of Japanese larch and increase that of Japanese beech. To establish the critical level of $O_3$ for protecting Japanese forest tree species, therefore, it is necessary to take into account the N deposition from the atmosphere. There is little information on the combined effects of $O_3$ and other environmental factors such as elevated $CO_2$ and drought on growth and physiological functions of Japanese forest tree species. Therefore, it is necessary to promote the experimental study and accumulate the information on the combined effects of $O_3$ and any other abiotic environmental factors on Japanese forest tree species.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• v.31 no.1
• /
• pp.10-15
• /
• 2018

Background: To identify a new strategy for postoperative pain management, we investigated the analgesic effects of allopregnanolone (Allo) in an incisional pain model, and also assessed its effects on the activities of the primary afferent fibers at the dorsal horn. Methods: In experiment 1, 45 rats were assigned to Control, Allo small-dose (0.16 mg/kg), and Allo large-dose (1.6 mg/kg) groups (n = 15 in each). The weight bearing and mechanical withdrawal thresholds of the hind limb were measured before and at 2, 24, 48, and 168 h after Brennan's surgery. In experiment 2, 16 rats were assigned to Control and Allo (0.16 mg/kg) groups (n = 8 in each). The degree of spontaneous pain was measured using the grimace scale after the surgery. Activities of the primary afferent fibers in the spinal cord (L6) were evaluated using immunohistochemical staining. Results: In experiment 1, the withdrawal threshold of the Allo small-dose group was significantly higher than that of the Control group at 2 h after surgery. Intergroup differences in weight bearing were not significant. In experiment 2, intergroup differences in the grimace scale scores were not significant. Substance P release in the Allo (0.16 mg/kg) group was significantly lower than that in the Control group. Conclusions: Systemic administration of Allo inhibited mechanical allodynia and activities of the primary afferent fibers at the dorsal horn in a rat postoperative pain model. Allo was proposed as a candidate for postoperative pain management.

• The Journal of Engineering Geology
• /
• v.17 no.1 s.50
• /
• pp.41-47
• /
• 2007

Geotechnical Phenomena such as landslide, groundwater recharge and groundwater fluctuation due to rainfall can be explain to use a dielectric response and infiltration variation by the movement of a wetting front in the subsurface. The infiltration of a wetting front is infiltrating to the connected pores which are distributed in unsaturated soil. In this study we carried out to laboratory experiment of a vertical infiltration column test using ethanol mix-ing tracer which has same the specific gravity of water. All physical values are detected to use a variation of dielectric constant and calculated to use a dielectric mixing model and tracer test model. This dielectric method measured by each dielectric constant of geological soil porous materials should be of for the geotechnical information and useful a field monitoring technique for detecting the variations of the volumetric water content and the wetting front, which are insignificant the key parameter to understanding the landslide by rainfall.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.21 no.10
• /
• pp.1449-1457
• /
• 2008

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the carcass characteristics, chemical composition and fatty acid profile of the Longissimus muscle (LM) of three cattle genetic groups (Purunã, PUR, 11; 1/2 Purunã vs. 1/2 British, PUB, 6 and 1/2 Charolais vs. 1/2 Caracu, CHC, 10) finished in pasture systems. The field work took place at the Lapa Research Farm of the Agronomic Institute of Paraná, in the city of Lapa, south Brazil. The animals were fed during the winter with corn silage, cottonseed meal, cracked corn, urea, limestone and mineral salts as sources of protein, as well as an energy supplement, in pasture systems of Brachiaria decumbens Stapf. The animal groups were slaughtered at 20 months of age, at 50122.6 kg live weight. CHC bulls had higher (p<0.05) final weight than PUR and PUB bulls. Hot carcass weight was similar (p>0.10) between PUR and PUB. Hot carcass dressing percentage was higher (p<0.05) for PUB bulls than for PUR and CHC bulls. On the other hand, hot carcass dressing percentage was similar (p>0.05) between PUR and CHC bulls. Fat thickness was similar (p>0.10) among all genetic groups. However, the Longissimus area of CHC bulls was greater (p<0.05) than in PUR and PUB genetic groups. The genetic groups did not affect (p>0.10) the marbling of Longissimus. There was no observed difference (p>0.10) in moisture, ash, crude protein and total cholesterol contents among the three genetic groups. On the other hand, the total lipid percentage was higher (p<0.05) for the PUB genetic group in comparison with PUR and CHC. CLA percentage was highest for PUR animals. However, total CLA amounts were not altered by the different genetic groups.

• Asian Journal of Atmospheric Environment
• /
• v.6 no.1
• /
• pp.33-40
• /
• 2012

In this study, we characterized the physical form of allergenic Cry j 1 in the urban atmosphere. Through an immunofluorescence antibody method, we showed that allergenic Cry j 1 exists as fine particles (${\leq}1.1{\mu}m$). To determine Cry j 1 concentrations and its particle size distribution, we used the ELISA method to confirm that most Cry j 1 exists as fine particles in the urban atmosphere and is found at high concentrations on fine day next to rainy day. Furthermore, we evaluated Cry j 1 denaturation by using the Biacore J system based on the surface plasmon resonence (SPR) principle and sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). We showed that the dissociation constant ($K_D$) of Cry j 1 that has been exposed to urban polluted air is lower ($1.76{\times}10^{-14}$ M) than that of Cry j 1 ($1.32{\times}10^{-9}-3.37{\times}10^{-9}$ M) of original pollen grains that has not been exposed to air pollutants. Cry j 1 turns into low molecular weight proteins by reacting with various acidic solutions. In sum, we showed that allergenic Cry j 1 exists as fine particles that can deposit in the lower respiratory tract. This finding clarifies the relationship between Japanese cedar pollinosis and air pollutants.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Systems Engineering
• /
• v.12 no.2
• /
• pp.59-67
• /
• 2016

Recently, the increased complexity of systems has made systems engineering necessary. It is very useful for system designers to understand the whole context of the concerned system based on systems engineering. A system model can be used to describe the outcome of a system design. A system model describes the system from the viewpoint of the stakeholder's needs using the mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive principle. A system model can be used to smoothly design a large and complicated system based on the systems engineering development process. Many companies and countries are attempting to apply model-based systems engineering, and the significance of the system model quality is increasing as system models are referenced during system development. In this paper, we propose a quality assessment method for ontology which is one of system models by focusing on the system development process. First, in this process, a system developer should explicitly show the relationship between viewpoints. Then, the system developer should select dependent rather than independent viewpoints. With dependent viewpoints, each viewpoint used to describe the system has some logical relationship. The set of viewpoints makes it possible to show, not only tangible and physical system parts, but also conceptual system parts. In this paper, we develop an ontological system model of a Japanese weather observation system. By comparing some ontological system models, we verify the effectiveness of explicitly describing the relationships between viewpoints and select dependent viewpoints.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.23
• /
• pp.10171-10174
• /
• 2015

Background: The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic significance of the maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) on F-18-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG)-positron emission tomography (PET) in patients undergoing surgical treatment for non-small cell lung cancer. Materials and Methods: Seventy-eight consecutive patients (58 with adenocarcinomas, 20 with squamous cell carcinomas) treated with potentially curative surgery were retrospectively reviewed. Results: The SUVmax was significantly higher in the patients with recurrent than with non-recurrent adenocarcinoma (p<0.01). However, among the patients with squamous cell carcinoma, there were no differences with or without recurrence (p=0.69). Multivariate analysis indicated that the SUVmax of adenocarcinoma lesions was a significant predictor of disease-free survival (p=0.04). In addition, an SUVmax of 6.19, the cut-off point based on ROC curve analysis of the patients with pathological IB or more advanced stage adenocarcinomas, was found to be a significant predictor of disease-free survival (p<0.01). Conclusions: SUVmax is a useful predictor of disease-free survival in patients with resected adenocarcinoma, but not squamous cell carcinoma. Patients with adenocarcinoma exhibiting an SUVmax above 6.19 are candidates for more intensive adjuvant therapy.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
• /
• v.15 no.16
• /
• pp.6843-6848
• /
• 2014

Background: Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) is reported to be useful for detecting malignant lesions. The purpose of this study is to clarify characteristics of imaging, detection rate and sensitivity of DWI for recurrence or metastasis of lung cancer. Methods: A total of 36 lung cancer patients with recurrence or metastasis were enrolled in this study. While 16 patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) and positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT), 17 underwent MRI and CT, and 3 underwent MRI and PET-CT. Results: Each recurrence or metastasis showed decreased diffusion, which was easily recognized in DWI. The detection rate for recurrence or metastasis was 100% (36/36) in DWI, 89% (17/19) in PET-CT and 82% (27/33) in CT. Detection rate of DWI was significantly higher than that of CT (p=0.0244) but not significantly higher than that of PET-CT (p=0.22). When the optimal cutoff value of the apparent diffusion coefficient value was set as $1.70{\times}10^{-3}mm^2/sec$, the sensitivity of DWI for diagnosing recurrence or metastasis of lung cancer was 95.6%. Conclusions: DWI is useful for detection of recurrence and metastasis of lung cancer.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.38 no.3
• /
• pp.231-238
• /
• 2006

Whole-body exposure to high-dose radiation causes injury involving multiple organs that depends on their sensitivity to radiation. This acute radiation syndrome (ARS) is caused by a brief exposure of a major part of the body to radiation at a relatively high dose rate. ARS is characterized by an initial prodromal stage, a latent symptom-free period, a critical or manifestation phase that usually takes one of four forms (three forms): hematologic, gastrointestinal, or cardiovascular and neurological (neurovascular), depending upon the exposure dose, and a recovery phase or death. One of the most important factors in treating victims exposed to radiation is the estimation of the exposure dose. When high-dose exposure is considered, initial dose estimation must be performed in order to make strategy decisions for treatment as soon as possible. Dose estimation can be based on onset and severity of prodromal symptoms, decline in absolute lymphocyte count post exposure, and chromosomal analysis of peripheral blood lymphocytes. Moreover, dose assessment on the basis of calculation from reconstruction of the radiation event may be required. Experience of a criticality accident occurring in 1999 at Tokai-mura, Japan, showed that ARS led to multiple organ failure (MOF). This article will review ARS and discuss the possible mechanisms of MOF developing from ARS.