• Nutritional Sciences
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• v.6 no.1
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• pp.12-19
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• 2003

The measurement of the total antioxidant capacity (TAC) of human plasma has been widely applied in nutritional science, for example to evaluate the antioxidant contribution of dietary components and to study, although indirectly, the bioavailability of dietary antioxidants. Several methods have been proposed for the measurement of TAC, most of them based on the ability of plasma to withstand the oxidative damage induced by aqueous radicals. Although plasma contains both hydrophilic and lipophilic antioxidants that interact through extensive cross-talk in most of the methods employed for the TAC measurement, the hydrophilic antioxidants such as ascorbic acid, uric acid, and protein thiols mainly contribute to the total antioxidant plasma capacity (almost 70%) while lipophilic antioxidants embedded in the lipoproteins (carotenoids, a-tocopherol, ubiquino1-10) participate only in a negligible amount (less than 5%). The present paper reviews the analytical methods used to assess the TAC and in particular focuses on new approaches that are capable of distinguishing the antioxidant capacity of both the aqueous and lipid compartments of plasma. The general principle of the method as well as some in vitro and ex vivo applications will be discussed within the text.

• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.174-180
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• 2014

Standard weather data available to greenhouse environmental design are limited in most regions of the country. So, instead of using standard weather data, in order to find the method to build design weather data for greenhouse heating and cooling, design outdoor weather conditions were analyzed and compared by TAC method and frequency analysis using climatological normal and thirty years from 1981 to 2010 hourly weather data provided by KMA and standard weather data provided by KSES. Average TAC values of outdoor temperature, relative humidity and insolation using thirty years hourly weather data showed a good agreement with them using standard weather data. Therefore, in regions which are not available standard weather data, we suggest that design outdoor weather conditions should be analyzed using thirty years hourly weather data. Average of TAC values derived from every year hourly weather data during the whole period can be established as environmental design standards, and also minimum and maximum of them can be used as reference data.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.48 no.5
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• pp.476-480
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• 2005

Immunosuppressive therapy in pediatric renal transplant recipients is changing consequence of the increasing number of available immunosuppressive agents. The optimal use of immunosuppressive agents requires a thorough understanding of the pharmacokinetic characteristics, but the information on the pharmacokinetic characteristics of these drugs in pediatric transplant recipients is still limited. In general, patients younger than 5 years old show higher clearance rates, therefore the need for higher dosages in younger patients seems evident. By the therapeutic drug monitoring, trough($C_{min}$) and peak level($C_{max}$) are measured and the area under the blood concentration-time curve(AUC), which is taken as being representative of total systemic exposure can be calculated. Cyclosporine A (CSA) has poor bioavailability, which contributes to high inter- and intra-patient pharmacokinetic variability. CSA concentration measured 2 hours after administration($C_2$) has better correlation with the AUC than $C_{min}$ and is an alternative technique that predicts the AUC. Tacrolimus(Tac) has a great deal of inter-individual variability like CSA but intra-individual variability in systemic exposure is considered to be low. Both CSA and Tac are metabolized by a cytochrome P-450 enzyme isoform(CYP3A4). We should consider changing the dosages when CSA or Tac is used in combination with the medicines that inhibit or induce the CYP3A4. In case of steroid-free immunosuppressive therapy, the blood concentration of Tac should be frequently checked and dosage adjustment may be needed.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.96-101
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• 2014

The molecular features of Pseudomonas syringae pv. actinidiae strains isolated in Korea were compared with strains isolated in Japan and Italy. Sequencing of eight P. syringae pv. actinidiae and three P. syringae pv. theae strains revealed a total of 44 single nucleotide polymorphisms across 4,818 bp of the concatenated alignment of nine genes. A multiplex PCR assay was developed for the detection of P. syringae pv. actinidiae and for the specific detection of recent haplotype strains other than strains isolated since the 1980s in Korea. The primer pair, designated as TacF and TacR, specifically amplified a 545-bp fragment with the genomic DNA of new haplotype of P. syringae pv. actinidiae strains. A multiplex PCR conducted with the TacF/TacR primer pair and the universal primer pair for all P. syringae pv. actinidiae strains can be simultaneously applied for the detection of P. syringae pv. actinidiae and for the differentiation of new haplotype strains.

• Journal of Korea Game Society
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.39-48
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• 2014

Go is an extremely complex strategy board game despite its simple rules. By using MCTS, the computer Go programs with handicap game have been defeated human Go professionals. MCTS is based on the winning rate estimated by MC simulation rather than strategy concept. Meanwhile Genetic algorithm equipped with an adequate fitness function can find out the best solutions in the game. The game of Tic-Tac-Toe, also known as Naughts and Crosses, is one of the most popular games. We tried to find out the best strategy in the game of Tic-Tac-Toe. The experimental result showed that Genetic algorithm enables to find efficient strategies and can be applied to other board games such as Go and chess.

• The Journal of Fisheries Business Administration
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• v.35 no.1
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• pp.1-22
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• 2004

Since the red grouper stock was initially declared to be overfished by the NMFS in September 2002, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council must prepare for the red grouper rebuilding plan considering the following alternative management policies: Total Allowable Catch(TAC), 5 - month season closure, 1800 - pound trip limit, and 50 - fathom longline boundary. The first concern the Council has is to evaluate the effects of recommended policies and the second is to analyze the impact of management policies on yellow edge grouper. This is because the fleets harvest red grouper also catch yellowedge grouper, the regulations on red grouper are likely to allow fishing effort to be distributed into yellowedge grouper. Therefore, this study is aimed at evaluating the biological and economic effects of management policies considering simultaneously the impact of red grouper regulations on yellow edge grouper by developing a combined red grouper and yellowedge grouper bioeconomic model. The overall results indicate that management policies for red grouper would adversely affect the yellowedge grouper stock if yellowedge grouper is not protected by its regulations. The TAC policy has the most serious impact on the yellowedge grouper stock, while the 1800 - pound trip limit policy minimizes the reduction in the yellowedge grouper stock. However, the target stock size of red grouper is achieved as well as the largest net present value of returns is gained in the TAC policy.

• Clinical Endoscopy
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.665-673
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• 2022

Background/Aims: In patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), calcineurin activates zymogen, which results in pancreatitis. In this study, we aimed to determine the efficacy of tacrolimus, a calcineurin inhibitor, in preventing post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). Methods: This was a prospective pilot study in which patients who underwent ERCP received tacrolimus (4 mg in two divided doses); this was the Tac group. A contemporaneous cohort of patients was included as a control group. All patients were followed-up for PEP. PEP was characterized by worsening abdominal pain with an acute onset, elevated pancreatic enzymes, and a duration of hospital stay of more than 48 hours. Serum tacrolimus levels were measured immediately before the procedure in the Tac group. Results: There were no differences in the baseline characteristics between the Tac group (n=48) and the control group (n=51). Only four out of 48 patients (8.3%) had PEP in the Tac group compared to eight out of 51 patients (15.7%) who had PEP in the control group. The mean trough tacrolimus level in patients who developed PEP was significantly lower (p<0.05). Conclusions: Oral tacrolimus at a cumulative dose of 4 mg safely prevents PEP. Further randomized controlled studies are warranted to establish the role of tacrolimus in this context.

• Journal of Institute of Control, Robotics and Systems
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• v.19 no.7
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• pp.653-660
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• 2013

This paper deals with the problem of unfairness among uplink TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) flows associated with frame aggregation employed in IEEE 802.11n WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks). When multiple stations have uplink TCP flows and transmit TCP data packets to an AP (Access Point), the AP has to compete for channel access with stations for the transmission of TCP ACK (acknowledgement) packets to the stations. Due to this contention-based channel access, TCP ACKs tend to be accumulated in the AP's downlink buffer. We show that the frame aggregation in the MAC (Medium Access Control) layer increases TCP ACK losses in the AP and leads to the serious unfair operation of TCP congestion control. To resolve this problem, we propose the TAC (TCP ACK Compression) mechanism operating at the top of the AP's interface queue. By exploiting the properties of cumulative TCP ACK and frame aggregation, TAC serves only the representative TCP ACK without serving redundant TCP ACKs. Therefore, TAC reduces queue occupancy and prevents ACK losses due to buffer overflow, which significantly contributes to fairness among uplink TCP flows. Also, TAC enhances the channel efficiency by not transmitting unnecessary TCP ACKs. The simulation results show that TAC tightly assures fairness under various network conditions while increasing the aggregate throughput, compared to the existing schemes.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.52 no.1
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• pp.54-59
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• 2020

The inconsistent methods of harvest, identification, and preparation of brown algae samples make it difficult to compare the results of certain measurements across different studies, such as total phenolic contents (TPC), total flavonoid contents (TFC), and total antioxidant capacities (TAC). Therefore, this study aims to systematically measure and compare TPC, TFC, and TAC in 10 types of standardized brown algae extracts provided by the Bio-Resource Information System of Korea. Among the ten brown algae extracts, Ishige foliacea exhibited the highest levels of TPC and TAC, followed by Sargassum nigrifolium. TAC was measured by the following four assays: ABTS, DPPH, superoxide radical scavenging activities, and ferric reducing antioxidant power. TAC was found to be positively correlated with TPC (p<0.05) but not TFC, indicating that Ishige foliacea and Sargassum nigrifolium have potential use as marine antioxidative food material.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.941-944
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• 2012

Objective: The aim of current study was to evaluate the changes of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and its clinical, demographic and socioeconomic determinants during chemotherapy and 4 months follow-up in women with breast cancer using a repeated measures framework. Methods and Materials: A double blind cohort study was performed in 100 breast cancer patients given fluorouracil, doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide (FAC) or docetaxel, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide (TAC) in south of Iran. HRQoL was assessed at baseline, end of chemotherapy and four months thereafter using the QLQ-C30 questionnaire from European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) was applied for statistical analysis. Results: The mean of age at baseline was $48.5{\pm}10.6$. 70% and 14% of patients were married and smokers, respectively, and 20% suffered from another disease besides breast cancer. The results of GEE showed that after control for baseline scores, the HRQoL significantly improved over time. Although, the patients in FAC group had higher scores than the TAC group, the differences also diminished over time. Smoking, marital status and having child affected some scales of HRQoL. None of other variables were significantly related to HRQoL. Conclusion: Although patients in TAC groups had lower level of HRQoL over 8 months follow up, they experienced faster improvement than the FAC group. This implies that in long-term, improvements in TAC group are higher than FAC. Having children was positively correlated with HRQoL. Generally, there were no demographic and socio-economic differences in HRQoL in these patients between the chemotherapeutic regimens.