• Title/Summary/Keyword: Serial test

Search Result 343, Processing Time 0.034 seconds

Heat-Shock Protein 70 as a Tumor Antigen for in vitro Dendritic Cell Pulsing in Renal Cell Carcinoma Cases

  • Meng, Fan-Dong;Sui, Cheng-Guang;Tian, Xin;Li, Yan;Yang, Chun-Ming;Ma, Ping;Liu, Yun-Peng;Jiang, You-Hong
    • Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
    • /
    • v.15 no.20
    • /
    • pp.8947-8950
    • /
    • 2014
  • Immunological functions of heat shock proteins (HSPs) have long been recognized. In this study we aimed to efficiently purify HSP70 from renal cell carcinoma and test it as a tumor antigen for pulsing dendritic cells in vitro. HSP70 was purified from renal cell carcinoma specimens by serial column chromatography on Con A-sepharose, PD-10, ADP-agarose and DEAE-cellulose, and finally subjected to fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC). Dendritic cells derived from the adherent fraction of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were cultured in the presence of IL-4 and GM-CSF and exposed to tumor HSP70. After 24 hours, dendritic cells were phenotypically characterized by flow cytometry. T cells obtained from the non-adherent fraction of peripheral blood mononuclear cells were then co-cultured with HSP70-pulsed dendritic cells and after 3 days T cell cytotoxicity towards primary cultured renal cell carcinoma cells was examined by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay. Dendritic cells pulsed in vitro with tumor-derived HSP70 expressed higher levels of CD83, CD80, CD86 and HLA-DR maturation markers than those pulsed with tumor cell lysate and comparable to that of dendritic cells pulsed with tumor cell lysate plus TNF-${\alpha}$. Concomitantly, cytotoxic T-lymphocytes induced by HSP70-pulsed dendritic cells presented the highest cytotoxic activity. There were no significant differences when using homologous or autologous HSP70 as the tumor antigen. HSP70 can be efficiently purified by chromatography and induces in vitro dendritic cell maturation in the absence of TNF-${\alpha}$. Conspecific HSP70 may effectively be used as a tumor antigen to pulse dendritic cells in vitro.

Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on Water Resources: Waimea Plains, New Zealand Case Example

  • Zemansky, Gil;Hong, Yoon-Seeok Timothy;Rose, Jennifer;Song, Sung-Ho;Thomas, Joseph
    • Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
    • /
    • 2011.05a
    • /
    • pp.18-18
    • /
    • 2011
  • Climate change is impacting and will increasingly impact both the quantity and quality of the world's water resources in a variety of ways. In some areas warming climate results in increased rainfall, surface runoff, and groundwater recharge while in others there may be declines in all of these. Water quality is described by a number of variables. Some are directly impacted by climate change. Temperature is an obvious example. Notably, increased atmospheric concentrations of $CO_2$ triggering climate change increase the $CO_2$ dissolving into water. This has manifold consequences including decreased pH and increased alkalinity, with resultant increases in dissolved concentrations of the minerals in geologic materials contacted by such water. Climate change is also expected to increase the number and intensity of extreme climate events, with related hydrologic changes. A simple framework has been developed in New Zealand for assessing and predicting climate change impacts on water resources. Assessment is largely based on trend analysis of historic data using the non-parametric Mann-Kendall method. Trend analysis requires long-term, regular monitoring data for both climate and hydrologic variables. Data quality is of primary importance and data gaps must be avoided. Quantitative prediction of climate change impacts on the quantity of water resources can be accomplished by computer modelling. This requires the serial coupling of various models. For example, regional downscaling of results from a world-wide general circulation model (GCM) can be used to forecast temperatures and precipitation for various emissions scenarios in specific catchments. Mechanistic or artificial intelligence modelling can then be used with these inputs to simulate climate change impacts over time, such as changes in streamflow, groundwater-surface water interactions, and changes in groundwater levels. The Waimea Plains catchment in New Zealand was selected for a test application of these assessment and prediction methods. This catchment is predicted to undergo relatively minor impacts due to climate change. All available climate and hydrologic databases were obtained and analyzed. These included climate (temperature, precipitation, solar radiation and sunshine hours, evapotranspiration, humidity, and cloud cover) and hydrologic (streamflow and quality and groundwater levels and quality) records. Results varied but there were indications of atmospheric temperature increasing, rainfall decreasing, streamflow decreasing, and groundwater level decreasing trends. Artificial intelligence modelling was applied to predict water usage, rainfall recharge of groundwater, and upstream flow for two regionally downscaled climate change scenarios (A1B and A2). The AI methods used were multi-layer perceptron (MLP) with extended Kalman filtering (EKF), genetic programming (GP), and a dynamic neuro-fuzzy local modelling system (DNFLMS), respectively. These were then used as inputs to a mechanistic groundwater flow-surface water interaction model (MODFLOW). A DNFLMS was also used to simulate downstream flow and groundwater levels for comparison with MODFLOW outputs. MODFLOW and DNFLMS outputs were consistent. They indicated declines in streamflow on the order of 21 to 23% for MODFLOW and DNFLMS (A1B scenario), respectively, and 27% in both cases for the A2 scenario under severe drought conditions by 2058-2059, with little if any change in groundwater levels.

  • PDF

In Vivo Study on the Biocompatibility of New Resin-based Root Canal Sealers (신개발 레진 계열 봉함제의 생체친화성에 관한 연구)

  • Kim, Yong-Beom;Baek, Seung-Ho;Bae, Kwang-Shik
    • Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
    • /
    • v.27 no.2
    • /
    • pp.122-134
    • /
    • 2002
  • 목적 : 근관 치료의 최종 목적인 근관계의 영구적인 충전을 위해 사용되는 근관 봉함제는 많은 연구와 개선을 거쳐서 현재는 다양한 성분의 봉함제가 시판되고 있다. 이중에서 레진이 주성분인 봉함제는 조작이 편리하고 흐름성이 좋으며 근관의 벽에 높은 밀폐성을 보이고 충분한 작업시간과 높은 방사선 불투과성을 가지는 장점을 가짐에도 불구하고 높은 초기 생체 독성을 나타내는 단점을 가지고 있다. 본 실험에서는 기존의 상용화된 제품 중 레진이 주성분인 두 종류의 봉함제(AH 26, AH plus)와 산화아연이 주성분인 봉함제(Pulp Canal Sealer EWT)와 국내에서 새로이 개발한 제품으로서 레진이 주성분인 두 종류의 봉함제(Adseal-1,2)를 생체조직에 매식하여 국소적인 반응을 비교하여 생체친화성을 알아보고자 하였다. 방법 : 수종 봉함제의 생체 친화성을 알아보기 위하여 64마리의 Sprague-Dawley rat을 사용하였다. 봉함제의 피하조직 매식을 위해 길이와 직경이 각각 5와 1.5mm인 폴리에틸렌 테프론 관을 사용하였으며 이를 에탄올과 증류수로 세척 한 후 고압증기멸균을 시행하였다. Rat에 대하여 케타민으로 복강내 마취를 시행한 후 배부를 면도하고 iodine으로 소독한 다음 네 곳에 절개를 시행하였으며 blunt dissection을 통해 깊이 10mm이상의 피하조직 pocket을 형성하였다. 각각의 봉함제를 제조사의 지시 에 따라 혼합 후 즉시 멸균된 테프론 관에 주사기를 이용하여 담은 다음에 봉함제가 흐르지 않게 유의하며 pocket내로 삽입하였으며 이때 16개의 관을 대조군으로 사용하기 위해 봉함제를 넣지 않은 상태로 삽입하였다. 이 후 절개 부위를 surgical gut suture로 봉합하였으며 1주일 후에 발사하였다. Rat을 1, 2, 4, 12주 후에 각 군 당 세 마리 씩 에테르 흡입을 통해 희생하였으며 이 때 한 마리씩의 대조군도 포함시켰다. 이 후 매식된 관을 주위 조직과 함께 제거하고 포르말린에서 48시간 고정시킨 후 파라핀에 포매한 다음에 micro-tome을 사용하여 6$\mu\textrm{m}$로 serial section을 시행하였다. 정중선 부위의 시편에 Hematoxylin-Eosin staining을 시행한 후 Olsson, Orstavik 그리고 Mjor 등의 방법에 따라 조직학적 변화를 관찰한 후 slight(1), moderate(2), severe inflammation(3)의 단계로 분류하였다. 얻어진 결과를 통계처리 프로그램인 Jandel사의 Sigmastat을 이용하여 Kruskal Wallis Test로 통계처리를 하였다. 결과 : (Table omitted) 결론 : 1) Pulp Canal Sealer를 제외한 모든 군에서 시간이 지남에 따라 유의성 있게 염증이 감소되는 양상을 보였다(p<0.05). 2) Pulp Canal Sealer는 1주, 2주, 12주에서 강한 염증반응을 보였다. 3) AH 26과 AH Plus에서는 1주, 2주에서 강한 염증반응을 보였으나 12주에서는 염증반응이 감소하였다. 4) 새로 개발된 봉함제 Adseal-1,2는 1주, 2주에서는 가장 약한 염증반응을 보이나 4주, 12주 후에는 AH Plus와 비슷한 수준의 염증 반응을 보였다. 5) Pulp Canal Sealer를 제외한 모든 군에서 인정할 만한 생체친화성을 보였다. 6) Adseal-2가 Adseal-1에 비하여 전반적으로 낮은 염증반응을 보였다. 7) 각 군간 결과의 차이에 통계적 유의성은 없었다(p>0.05).

A Study on the Verification of Design Compatibility for a Europe Type Automatic Coupler Head according to TSI Certification Standards (TSI 인증기준에 따른 유럽 표준형 자동복합연결기 헤드의 설계적합성 검증 연구)

  • Min, Kyeong Bin;Park, Jin Kyu;Kang, Ji Sung;Kim, Ki Nam
    • Journal of the Korean Society for Railway
    • /
    • v.19 no.1
    • /
    • pp.29-37
    • /
    • 2016
  • The type approval system of the railway safety law, which was enforced in 2014, has been preferentially applied to the field of railway vehicles. The type approval system addresses railway vehicles and railway constituents. Unlike the previous system, it requires serial verification stages divided, in consecutive order, into verification of design compatibility and conformity and type test. These stages are in accord with international certification systems including TSI certification of the European commission. This study has been carried out to find and meet the design requirements for a coupler head, which is a part of the automatic coupler system; requirements were drawn from TSI and technical specifications that are subordinate to the domestic railway approval system. Through this study, it has been found that there exist 34 design requirements to acquire a complete coupler head. Among those requirements, 32 were verified by document inspection and two were able to be verified by performing FEA and gathering range analysis data.

Biological Properties of Vero Cell-Adapted Newcastle Disease Virus (Vero 세포적응 뉴캣슬병 바이러스의 생물학적 특성)

  • Choi, Kang-Seuk;Park, Mi-Ja;Kye, Soo-Jeong;Kim, Ji-Ye;Kwon, Jun-Hun
    • Korean Journal of Poultry Science
    • /
    • v.39 no.2
    • /
    • pp.113-120
    • /
    • 2012
  • Newcastle disease virus (NDV) Kr005/V strain was generated through 55 serial passages of NDV Kr005 strain in Vero cells. The Kr005/V virus yielded high infective titers of $10^{7.8}$ $TCID_{50}/mL$ in Vero cells and the infected cells showed cytopathic effects such as marked cell rounding, though less frequent syncytia. The Kr005/V virus was heat-stable and classified into the lentogenic type with a Mean Death Time (MDT) of 120h or greater while the Kr005 strain was heat-labile and velogenic (MDT of 49.6 h). Only the single amino acid substitution (T to S) was observed at position 433 of the HN protein of the Kr005/V strain, whereas no amino acid change was found in the F protein. The Kr005/V input virus correlated well (correlation coefficient $r^2$=0.97) with the Kr005 virus when ten field sera were tested by virus neutralization test. The biological properties and usefulness of Vero cell-adapted Kr005/V virus were discussed.

Antimicrobial Activities of Combined Extract of Aloe vera with Propolis against Oral Pathogens (알로에 베라 및 프로폴리스 혼합 추출물의 구강내 병원균에 대한 항균활성)

  • 임지영;문유선;정승희;이규임;유수연;박원봉;심창섭
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
    • /
    • v.31 no.5
    • /
    • pp.899-904
    • /
    • 2002
  • Aloe and propolis are extensively used in folk medicine. Ethanol extracts of Aloe vera (AE), ethanol extract of propolis (PE) and waxfree extract of propolis (PW) were prepared to test antimicrobial activities against five oral microorganisms (Streptococcus mutans, Enterococcus faecalis, Enteococcus hirae, Escherichia coli, Candida albicans). Antimicrobial activities were tested by serial broth dilution method and expressed by minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC). The AE showed relatively weak antimicrobial activities, while both of PE and PW greatly inhibited all microorganisms tested. To investigate the antimicrobial effects of the combined extracts of aloe with propolis, the fractional inhibitory concentration index (FICI) was determined by checkerboard assay for each strain. The combination of AE with PE or PW resulted in Synergistic effect against oral microorganisms tested (FICI=0.375) except Escherichia coli (FICI=1.0 for PE, FICI=0.75 for PW).

An Empirical Study on the Size Distribution of Venture Firms in the center of KOSDAQ Listed Companies (국내 벤처기업 진화과정에 관한 실증분석 - 코스닥상장 기술벤처기업 분석을 중심으로 -)

  • Cho, Sang-Sup;Yang, Young-Seok
    • Asia-Pacific Journal of Business Venturing and Entrepreneurship
    • /
    • v.6 no.1
    • /
    • pp.23-37
    • /
    • 2011
  • This paper is brought to carry out an empirical study whether evolution process of venture firm's scale is following the Gibrat's law; random evolution process, or Pareto law; self-organizing process. The empirical test, as attaching theoretical explanation, of this research utilize the serial data samples of 92 KOSDAQ listed companies from the year of 2005 through 2008. Summarizing the research results are as followed. First, Gini Coefficients representing the density of venture firm's scale has been constantly reduced since the year of 2005 in terms of number of employee, while these index increased during the same time period from the perspective of sales volume. Second, the evolution process of Korea venture firm's scale is following the Power Law related to Pareto Law. In particular, estimated Pareto coefficient, ${\alpha}$, is shown lower than 1 which is significant result. Third, the probability of joining in the top tier group of firm starting from the early stage growing is forecasted into 6.9%, the result which emphasize the starting scale of venture firm play an important role in long term evolution of venture firm.

  • PDF

Real-Time Construction Resource Monitoring using RFID/USN Inter-working System (RFID/USN 연동 시스템을 활용한 건설자원 실시간 모니터링 시스템)

  • Ryu, Jeoung-Pil;Kim, Hyoung-Kwan;Kim, Chang-Yoon;Kim, Chang-Wan;Han, Seung-Heon;Kim, Moon-Kyum
    • Proceedings of the Korean Institute Of Construction Engineering and Management
    • /
    • 2007.11a
    • /
    • pp.90-94
    • /
    • 2007
  • Location tracking automation of resources in construction industry is one of the most important procedures to improve construction project performance and reduce the period of construction. Recently, location tracking technologies have proven to be effective in tracking construction materials and equipment in real time through the instrumentality of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification). By using wireless communication and inter-working system between RFID and USN, it is possible that construction engineers receive the location information of construction resources without additional efforts that move the RFID reader to read tags periodically. In the inter-working system, RFID reader delivers the acquired materials information to sensor node which is connected by serial interface. Then sensor node transmits the received data to the data aggregation terminal that is a sink node. The data aggregation terminal can transmit collected data to construction manager who is out of construction site using infrastructure such as CDMA(Code Division Multiple Access) network. The combination model of the two system and field test scenarios are presented in this paper.

  • PDF

THE EVALUATION OF CYTOTOXICITY AND BIOCOMPATIBILITY OF TI-TA-NB-BASE ALLOY (Ti-Ta-Nb계 합금의 세포독성과 생체적합성의 평가)

  • Cui De-Zhe;Vang Mong-Sook;Yoon Taek-Rin
    • The Journal of Korean Academy of Prosthodontics
    • /
    • v.44 no.2
    • /
    • pp.250-263
    • /
    • 2006
  • Statement of problem: Ti-alloy has been used widely since it was produced in the United States in 1947 because it has high biocompatibility and anticorrosive characteristics. Purpose: The pure titanium, however, was used limitedly due to insufficient mechanical charateristics and difficult manufacturing process. Our previous study was focused on the development of a new titanium alloy. In the previous study we found that the Ti-Ta-Nb alloy had better mechanical characteristics and similar anticorrosive characteristics to Ti-6Al-4V Material and methods: In this study, the cytotoxicity of the Ti-Ta-Nb alloy was evaluated by MTT assay using MSCs(Mesenchaimal stem cells) and L929 cells(fibroblast cell line). The biocompatibility of the Ti-Ta-Nb alloy was performed by inserting the alloy into the femur of the rabbits and observing the radiological and histological changes surrounding the alloy implant. Results: 1. In the cytotoxicity test using MSCs, the 60% survival rate was observed in pure titanium, 84% in Ti-6Al-4V alloy and 95% in Ti-10Ta-10Nb alloy. 2. In the animal study, the serial follow-up of the radiographs showed no separation or migration revealing gradual bone ingrowth surrounding the implants. Similar radiographic results were obtained among three implant groups pure titanium, Ti-6Al-4V alloy and Ti-10Ta-10Nb alloy. 3. In the histologic examination of the bone block containing the implants. the bone ingrowth was prominent around the implants with the lapse of time. There was no signs of any tissue rejection, degeneration, or inflammation. Active bone ingrowth was observed around the implants. In the comparison of the three groups, the rate of bone ingrowth was better in the Ti-10Ta-10Nb alloy group than those in pure titanium group or Ti-6Al-4V alloy group. In conclusion, Ti-10Ta-10Nb alloy revealed better biocompatibility in survival rate of the cells and bone ingrowth around the implants. Therefore we believe a newly developed Ti-10Ta-10Nb alloy can replace currently used Ti-6Al-4V alloy to increase biocompatibility and to decrease side effects. Conclusion: In conclusion, Ti-10Ta-10Nb alloy revealed better biocompatibility in survival rate of the cells and bone ingrowth around the implants. Therefore we believe a newly developed Ti-10Ta-10Nb alloy can replace currently used Ti-6Al-4V alloy to increase biocompatibility and to decrease side effects.

The Effect of Various Hot Environments on Physiological Responses and Information Processing Performance Following Firefighting Activities in a Smoke-Diving Room

  • Hemmatjo, Rasoul;Motamedzade, Majid;Aliabadi, Mohsen;Kalatpour, Omid;Farhadian, Maryam
    • Safety and Health at Work
    • /
    • v.8 no.4
    • /
    • pp.386-392
    • /
    • 2017
  • Background: Fire service workers often implement multiple duties in the emergency conditions, with such duties being mostly conducted in various ambient temperatures. Methods: The aim of the current study was to assess the firefighters' physiological responses, information processing, and working memory prior to and following simulated firefighting activities in three different hot environments. Seventeen healthy male firefighters performed simulated firefighting tasks in three separate conditions, namely (1) low heat (LH; $29-31^{\circ}C$, 55-60% relative humidity), (2) moderate heat (MH; $32-34^{\circ}C$, 55-60% relative humidity), and (3) severe heat (SH; $35-37^{\circ}C$, 55-60% relative humidity). It took about 45-50 minutes for each firefighter to finish all defined firefighting activities and the paced auditory serial addition test (PASAT). Results: At the end of all the three experimental conditions, heart rate (HR) and tympanic temperature (TT) increased, while PASAT scores as a measure of information processing performance decreased relative to baseline. HR and TT were significantly higher at the end of the experiment in the SH ($159.41{\pm}4.25beats/min$; $38.22{\pm}0.10^{\circ}C$) compared with the MH ($156.59{\pm}3.77beats/min$; $38.20{\pm}0.10^{\circ}C$) and LH ($154.24{\pm}4.67beats/min$; $38.17{\pm}0.10^{\circ}C$) conditions (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in PASAT scores between LH and MH (p > 0.05). Nonetheless, there was a measurable difference in PASAT scores between LH and SH (p < 0.05). Conclusion: These consequences demonstrate that ambient temperature is effective in raising the physiological responses following firefighting activities. It is therefore argued that further increase of ambient temperature can impact firefighters' information processing and working memory during firefighting activity.