• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.67-71
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• 2015

Objective: Elevated serum progesterone (P) levels on triggering day have been known to affect the pregnancy rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF). This study aimed to identify the possible factors influencing serum P levels on triggering day in stimulated IVF cycles. Methods: Three hundred and thirty consecutive fresh IVF cycles were included in the study. All cycles were first attempts and were performed in a single infertility center. The indications for IVF were male factor infertility (n=114), ovulatory infertility (n=84), endometriosis (n=61), tubal infertility (n=59), unexplained infertility (n=41), and uterine factor infertility (n=39). A luteal long protocol of a gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist (n=184) or a GnRH antagonist protocol (n=146) was used for pituitary suppression. Ovarian sensitivity was defined as the serum estradiol level on triggering day per 500 IU of administered gonadotropins (OS[a]) or the retrieved oocyte number per 500 IU of administered gonadotropins (OS[b]). Results: Univariate analysis revealed that the serum P level on triggering day was associated with the serum estradiol level on triggering day (r=0.379, p<0.001), the number of follicles ${\geq}14mm$ (r=0.247, p<0.001), the number of retrieved oocytes (r=0.384, p<0.001), and ovarian sensitivity (OS[a]: r=0.245, p<0.001; OS[b]: r=0.170, p=0.002). The woman's age, body mass index, antral follicle count, and basal serum follicle stimulating hormone and estradiol levels were not associated with serum P level on triggering day. The serum P level on triggering day did not show significant variation depending on the type or cause of infertility, pituitary suppression protocol, or the type of gonadotropins used. Conclusion: The serum P level on triggering day was closely related to the response to ovarian stimulation.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.44 no.3
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• pp.592-600
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• 1997

Background : The level of imposed work of breathing (WOB) is important for patient-ventilator synchrony and during weaning from mechanical ventilation. Triggering methods and the sensitivity of demand system are important determining factors of the imposed WOB. Flow triggering method is available on several modern ventilator and is believed to impose less work to a patient-triggered breath than pressure triggering method. We intended to compare the level of imposed WOB on two different methods of triggering and also at different levels of sensitivities on each triggering method (0.7 L/min vs 2.0 L/min on flow triggering ; $-1\;cmH_2O$ vs $-2cm\;H_2O$ on pressure triggering). Methods : The subjects were 12 patients ($64.8{\pm}4.2\;yrs$) on mechanical ventilation and were stable in respiratory pattern on CPAP $3\;cmH_2O$. Four different triggering sensitivities were applied at random order. For determination of imposed WOB, tracheal end pressure was measured through the monitoring lumen of Hi-Lo Jet tracheal tube (Mallincrodt, New York, USA) using pneumotachograph/pressure transducer (CP-100 pulmonary monitor, Bicore, Irvine, CA, USA). Other data of respiratory mechanics were also obtained by CP-100 pulmonary monitor. Results : The imposed WOB was decreased by 37.5% during 0.7 L/min on flow triggering compared to $-2\;cmH_2O$ on pressure triggering and also decreased by 14% during $-1\;cmH_2O$ compared to $-2\;cmH_2O$ on pressure triggering (p < 0.05 in each). The PTP(Pressure Time Product) was also decreased significantly during 0.7 L/min on flow triggering and $-1\;cmH_2O$ on pressure triggering compared to $-2\;cmH_2O$ on pressure triggering (p < 0.05 in each). The proportions of imposed WOB in total WOB were ranged from 37% to 85% and no significant changes among different methods and sensitivities. The physiologic WOB showed no significant changes among different triggering methods and sensitivities. Conclusion : To reduce the imposed WOB, flow triggering with sensitivity of 0.7 L/min would be better method than pressure triggering with sensitivity of $-2\;cm\;H_2O$.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.286-298
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• 2003

A steam explosion module, STX, has been developed using the mechanistic steam explosion analysis code, TEXAS-V, in order to estimate the dynamic load with steam explosion by implementing the module to the integrated safety analysis code, MELCOR. One of the difficulties in using mechanistic steam explosion codes is that they do not have any obvious criteria for defining some uncertain parameters such as triggering timing, triggering magnitude, mesh axial length and mesh cross-sectional area. These parameters have been user decision parts in the past. Steam explosion sample calculations and sensitivity studies on uncertain parameters were conducted to investigate those uncertain parameters. The TEXAS-V simulations were summarized in the format of a look-up table and a linear interpolation technique was adopted to calculate the steam explosion load between the data points in the table. The STX-module merged with MELCOR showed the same results as the original MELCOR and additionally it could estimate the steam explosion load in the reactor cavity.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.29 no.8
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• pp.1539-1544
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• 2008

A polymeric micelle, based on the poly(benzyl-L-histidine)-b-poly(ethylene glycol) (polyBz-His-b-PEG) diblock copolymer, was designed as a tumor-specific targeting carrier. The micelles (particle size: 67-80 nm, critical micelle concentration (CMC); 2-3 $\mu$g/mL) were formed from the diafilteration method at pH 7.4, as a result of self-assembly of the polyBz-His block at the core and PEG block on the shell. Removing benzyl (Bz) group from polyBz-His block provided pH-sensitivity of the micellar core; the micelles were physically destabilized in the pH range of pH 7.4-5.5, depending on the content of the His group free from Bz group. The ionization of His group at a slightly acidic pH promoted the deformation of the interior core. These pHdependent physical changes of the micelles provide the mechanism for pH-triggering anticancer drug (e.g., doxorubicin: DOX) release from the micelle in response to the tumor’s extracellular pH range (pH 7.2-6.5).

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Machine Tool Engineers
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.75-80
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• 2008

This paper presents an atomic force probe for triggering coordinate measuring machines(CMMs). A rigorous comparison is made between touch trigger probe and atomic force probe for CMMs. Typical CMMs(touch trigger probe based CMMs) often lead to some errors associated with object curvature and difference in triggering sensitivity. Their applicability is limited only to hard objects. The aim of this work is to develop a trigger sensor for CMMs using atomic force. In order to show the applicability of atomic force as a trigger sensor, a cylindrical shape is measured with a CMM and an atomic force microscope. Three different touch probe heads with different ball sizes are tested. The experiments show that smaller ball provides better results for curved objects. The experimental results also show that the performance of atomic force as a trigger sensor is about that of the smallest ball probe. In addition, experiments are also performed to measure soft objects. Finally, this paper suggests and verifies a trigger sensor using atomic force for CMMs.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.6
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• pp.499-505
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• 2007

Background: Triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 1 protein (TREM-1) is a cell surface molecule expressed on neutrophils and monocytes, and it plays an important role in myeloid cell-activated inflammatory response. The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic efficiency of soluble (s) TREM-1 in the patients who had pleural effusion from various causes. Methods: Forty-five patients with exudative pleural effusion were included in this study. The level of sTREM-1 was measured in both the serum and pleural fluids by immunoblot assay with using human-sTREM-1 antibody. Results: The pleural fluid sTREM-1 was significantly different in the three groups of exudative pleural effusion (p=0.011). Particularly, the patients with parapneumonic effusion were found to have significantly higher pleural fluid levels of sTREM-1 than patients with tuberculous (p<0.05) and malignant effusion, respectively (p<0.05). However, the serum sTREM-1 did not show a significant difference in the three groups. In order to evaluate the diagnostic utility of pleural fluid sTREM-1, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed and the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.818 (p=0.001). Using a cutoff value of 103.5 pg/mL for the pleural fluid sTREM-1, the sensitivity and specificity were 73% and 81%, respectively, for differentiating parapneumonic effusion from tuberculous or malignant effusions. Conclusion: Pleural fluid sTREM-1 can be an additional marker for making the differential diagnosis of pleural effusion.

• Publications of The Korean Astronomical Society
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.447-449
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• 2015

Although the link between activity in the nuclei of galaxy and galactic mergers has been under scrutiny for several years, it is still unclear to what extent and for which populations of active galaxies merger-triggered activity is relevant. The environments of AGN allow an indirect probe of the past merger history and future merger probability of these systems, suffering less from sensitivity issues when extended to higher redshifts than traditional morphological studies of AGN host galaxies. Here we present results from our investigation of the environment of radio selected sources out to a redshift z=2. We employ the first data release J-band catalog of the new near-IR Infrared Medium-Deep Survey (IMS), 1.4 GHz radio data from the Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-cm (FIRST) survey and a deep dedicated VLA survey of the VIMOS field, covering a combined total of 20 sq. degrees. At a flux limit of the combined radio catalog of 0.1 mJy, we probe over 8 orders of magnitude of radio luminosity. Using the second closest neighbor density parameters, we test whether active galaxies inhabit denser environments. We find evidence for a sub-population of radio-selected AGN that reside in significantly overdense environments at small scales, although we do not find significant overdensities for the bulk of our sample. We show that radio-AGN in the most underdense environments have vigorous ongoing star formation. We interpret these results in terms of the triggering and fuelling mechanism of radio-AGN.

• Clinical and Experimental Reproductive Medicine
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• v.40 no.2
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• pp.95-99
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• 2013

Objective: To evaluate the correlation between serum levels of anti-M$\ddot{u}$llerian hormone (AMH) and ovarian response to mild stimulation in normoovulatory women and anovulatory women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Methods: Seventy-four cycles of mild stimulation (clomiphene citrate+gonadotropin followed by timed intercourse or intrauterine insemination) performed in normoovulatory women (57 cycles) and anovulatory women with PCOS (17 cycles). Ovarian sensitivity was defined by the number of mature follicles (${\geq}14mm$) on triggering day per 100 IU of gonadotropin. A correlation between ovarian sensitivity and the baseline serum AMH level (absolute or multiples of the median [MoM] value for each corresponding age) was calculated. Correlation between ovarian response and serum AMH level was evaluated. Results: Ovarian sensitivity to mild stimulation was positively correlated with absolute serum AMH (r=0.535, p<0.001) or AMH-MoM value (r=0.390, p=0.003) in normoovulatory women, but this correlation was not observed in anovulatory women with PCOS (r=0.105, p>0.05, r=-0.265, p>0.05, respectively). Conclusion: Ovarian response to mild stimulation is possibly predicted by the serum AMH level in normoovulatory women, but not in anovulatory women with PCOS.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.62 no.4
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• pp.290-298
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• 2007

Background: The currently available diagnostic markers for pleural effusion have a limited role. The soluble triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (sTREM-1) is a molecule recently reported to play an important role in the myeloid cell mediated inflammatory response, and is up regulated in the body fluid by bacterial or fungal products. This study examined the expression of sTREM-1 in pleural effusion. Methods: Between April 2004 and December 2005, 48 patients with pleural effusions were enrolled in this study. The pleural fluids were taken and analyzed for the total protein, glucose, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), adenosine deaminase (ADA), and sTREM-1. Bacterial cultures and cytology tests were also performed. Results: The clinical diagnoses were 17 parapneumonic, 14 tuberculous, and 13 malignant effusions. Four patients presented with transudates. The mean ages of the parapneumonic, tuberculous and malignant effusion groups were $57.1{\pm}19.7$, $49.5{\pm}18.6$, $66.9{\pm}15.5$, and $76.0{\pm}18.1$. respectively. The level of sTREM-1 expression was significantly higher in the parapneumonic effusions ($344.0{\pm}488.7$) than in the tuberculous effusions ($81.7{\pm}56.6$) and malignant effusions ($39.3{\pm}19.6$). With a cut-off value of 55.4pg/ml, the sensitivity and specificity for a parapneumonic effusion was 70.6% and 74.1%. Conclusion: sTREM-1 expression is significantly higher in parapneumonic effusions, suggesting its potential role as an additional diagnostic marker for pleural effusions.

• Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases
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• v.65 no.4
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• pp.301-307
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• 2008

Background: The triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-1 (TREM-1) is an activating receptor that is expressed on the surface of neutrophils and mature monocytes when stimulated with several microbial components, which can amplify the inflammatory response. This study analyzed the prognostic value of the sTREM-1 levels in patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Methods: The bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and blood was collected prospectively from 32 patients with ARDS, 15 survivors and 17 nonsurvivors. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was performed to measure the sTREM-1. The following data was obtained: APACHE II score, Clinical Pulmonary Infection Score (CPIS), BAL fluid analysis, C-reative protein. Mortality in the ICU was defined as the end point. Results: The serum sTREM-1 level was significantly higher in the nonsurvivors than survivors ($54.3{\pm}10.3pg/ml$ vs. $22.7{\pm}2.3pg/ml$, p<0.05). The sTREM-1 level in the serum, but not in the BAL fluid, was an independent predictor of the ICU mortality (OR: 22.051, 95% CI: 1.780~273.148, p<0.016), and a cut-off value of ${\geq}33pg/ml$ yielded a diagnostic sensitivity of 71% and specificity of 93%. Conclusion: The serum sTREM-1 level may be a useful predictor of the outcome of ARDS patients.