• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.84-89
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to compare radiation dose and image quality between low-dose (LDP) and standard-dose protocol (SDP). LDP (120 kVp, 30 mAs, 2-mm thickness) and SDP (120 kVp, 180 mAs, 1.2-mm thickness) images obtained from 61 subjects were retrospectively evaluated at level of carina bifurcation, using multi-detector CT (Brilliance 16, Philips Medical Systems). Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were calculated at ascending aorta and infraspinatus muscle, from CT number and back-ground noise. Radiation dose from two protocols measured at 5-point using acrylic-phantom, and CT number and noise measured at 4-point using water-phantom. All statistical analysis were performed using SPSS 19.0 program. LDP images showed significantly more noise and a significantly lower SNR and CNR than did SDP images at ascending aorta and infraspinatus muscle. Noise, SNR and CNR were significantly correlated with body mass index (p<0.001). Radiation dose, SNR and CNR from phantom were significant differences between two protocols. LDP showed a significant reduction of radiation dose with a significant change in SNR and CNR compared with SDP. Therefore, exposure dose on LDP in clinical applications needs resetting highly more considering image quality.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.37 no.2
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• pp.239-243
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• 2010

The objective of this study was to evaluate effects of supplementation of ${\beta}$-mannanase (CTCZYME$^{(R)}$, CTCBIO, Inc.) on feed intake, growth performance and fecal health of calves fed two levels (3% vs. 8%) of palm kernel meal (PKM). A total of nine Holstein calves were divided into three groups, and fed a conventional starter containing 3% PKM (CON), CON+0.1% CTCZYME$^{(R)}$ (TRT1), or a starter containing 8% PKM+0.1% CTCZYME$^{(R)}$ (TRT2). No clinical symptom of calves was observed through the trial. We did not find significant differences among the treatments on mean feed intake, growth performance, or fecal health during the four-week experimental period. Feed efficiency tended to be improved by adding CTCZYME$^{(R)}$ (0.46, 0.87 and 0.52 for CON, TRT1 and TRT2, respectively). Compared with CON (921 g/d and 786 g/d), TRT2 had lower feed intake (727 g/d) and average daily gain (ADG, 631 g/d) before weaning. However, feed intake (2300 g/d) and ADG (1012 g/d) were similar or even higher in TRT2 than CON (2269 g/d and 560 g/d) after weaning. This was probably due to the effect of a large amount of mannan-oligosaccharide released from PKM by ${\beta}$-mannanase. Salmonella was not detected any fecal samples. No significant difference was observed in the number of fecal E. coli or fecal properties including color, smell, and watery indexes among the treatments. We conclude that a calf starter containing 8% PKM with 0.1% CTCZYME$^{(R)}$ is comparable with a conventional starter in feed intake and growth performance of calf, which is beneficial in terms of reduction in feed cost.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 1989

Voltammetric behavior of alkylammonium ion was studied in the absence and in the presence of crown ether in propylene carbonate as solvent. The peak potentials and the peak currents, their dependency on the concentrations, the reversibility of the electrode reactions are described. In the presence of crown ether chemical reaction might be preceeded before the electron-transfer process, the peak potential for the reduction shifts at the negative direction as the concentration of crown ether to the electrolyte solution increases. The addition of crown ether(20mM 18CR6)to the electrolyte solution made it possible to determine voltammetrically the dialkylammonium ions($Me_2NH^{+}_{2};O.6{\sim}0.8mM$) in the presence of the monoalkylammonium ions ($EtNH^{+}_{3} ;1.6mM$) and the monoalkylammonium ions ($EtNH^{+}_{3} ; 0.5{\sim}2.5mM$) in the presence of the dialkylammonium ions($Me_2NH^{+}_{2};0.5mM$)

• Development and Reproduction
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• v.21 no.4
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• pp.407-415
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• 2017

In the present study, we investigated the role of binding immunoglobulin protein/glucose-regulated protein, 78-kDa (BIP/GRP78)-regulated endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-stress on meiotic maturation and cumulus cells expansion in porcine cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs). Previously, it has been demonstrated that unfolded protein response (UPR)-related genes, such as molecules involved in ER-stress defense mechanisms, were expressed in matured oocytes and cumulus cells during in vitro maturation (IVM) of porcine oocytes. However, BIP/GRP78-mediated regulation of ER stress in porcine oocytes has not been reported. Firstly, we observed the effects of knockdown of BIP/GRP78 (an UPR initiation marker) using porcine-specific siRNAs (#909, #693, and #1570) on oocyte maturation. Among all siRNAs, siRNA #693 significantly reduced the protein levels of UPR marker proteins (BIP/GRP78, ATF4, and P90ATF6) in porcine COCs observed by Western blotting and immunofluorescence analysis. We also observed that the reduction of BIP/GRP78 levels by siRNA#693 significantly inhibited the meiotic maturation of oocytes (siRNA #693: $32.5{\pm}10.1%$ vs control: $77.8{\pm}5.3%$). In addition, we also checked the effect of ER-stress inhibitors, tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA, $200{\mu}M$) and melatonin ($0.1{\mu}M$), in BIP/GRP78-knockdown oocytes. TUDCA and melatonin treatment could restore the expression levels of ER-stress marker proteins (BIP/GRP78, $p-eIF2{\alpha}$, $eIF2{\alpha}$, ATF4, and P90ATF6) in siRNA #693-transfected matured COCs. In conclusion, these results demonstrated that BIP/GRP78-mediated regulation of UPR signaling and ER stress plays an important role in in vitro maturation of porcine oocytes.

• Radiation Oncology Journal
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.18-25
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• 2016

Purpose: Radiotherapy of the neck is known to cause carotid artery stenosis. We compared the carotid artery dose received between volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) and conventional fixed-field intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT) plans in patients with early glottic cancer. Materials and Methods: Twenty-one early glottic cancer patients who previously underwent definitive radiotherapy were selected for this study. For each patient, double arc VMAT, 8-field IMRT, 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), and lateral parallel-opposed photon field radiotherapy (LPRT) plans were created. The 3DCRT plan was generated using lateral parallel-opposed photon fields plus an anterior photon field. VMAT and IMRT treatment plan optimization was performed under standardized conditions to obtain adequate target volume coverage and spare the carotid artery. Dose-volume specifications for the VMAT, IMRT, 3DCRT, and LPRT plans were calculated with radiotherapy planning system. Monitor units (MUs) and delivery time were measured to evaluate treatment efficiency. Results: Target volume coverage and homogeneity results were comparable between VMAT and IMRT; however, VMAT was superior to IMRT for carotid artery dose sparing. The mean dose to the carotid arteries in double arc VMAT was reduced by 6.8% compared to fixed-field IMRT (p < 0.001). The MUs for VMAT and IMRT were not significantly different (p = 0.089). VMAT allowed an approximately two-fold reduction in treatment delivery time in comparison to IMRT (3 to 5 minutes vs. 5 to 10 minutes). Conclusion: VMAT resulted in a lower carotid artery dose compared to conventional fixed-field IMRT, and maintained good target coverage in patients with early glottic cancer.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.30 no.sup2
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• pp.281-288
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• 2001

Objectives : The purpose of this study is to evaluate the usefulness of SSEP monitoring during intracranial aneurysm surgery and compare the characteristics of wave change in relation to neurologic changes between ACA aneurysms and MCA aneurysms. Methods : During recent three years(between January 1997 and November 1999), intraoperative SSEP monitoring had been done in 63 operations for intracranial aneurysms. We had monitored the median nerve SSEP during surgery for aneurysms of MCA and the posterior tibial nerve SSEP for aneurysms of ACoA or ACA. A more than 50% reduction of any cortical SEP response was considered to be a significant SEP change, compared to its baseline value before the start of surgery. Changes in the SEPs were categorized as follows : Type IA, no significant amplitude changes without temporary clipping ; Type IB, no significant amplitude changes with temporary clipping ; Type II, significant changes with temporary clipping and complete return to control amplitude ; Type III, significant changes with temporary clipping and incomplete return to control amplitude ; Type IV, significant changes with temporary clipping and more decreased amplitude changes. Results : Among the 63 intraoperative monitoring, there were 37 cases of ACA aneurysms(An), and 26 of MCA An. The temporary proximal arterial occlusion during surgery were performed in 31(83.8%)cases of ACA An, 22(84.6%) of MCA An. Seven of the 31 ACA An(22.6%) and ten of the 22 MCA An(45.5%) had significant changes. The type were as follows : 4 patients with type II and 3 with type III in the ACA An ; 3 patients with type II and 3 with type III and 4 with type IV in the MCA An. In both group type II changes had no new postoperative neurological deficit. All 6 patients with type III had new neurological deficits ; However, One case in the ACA An and two cases in the MCA An. had transient neurologic deficit and improved markedly over the next two months. All 4 type IV changes in the MCA An. had permanant neurologic deficits. Two out of 30 cases(6.7%) in the ACA An. and one out of 16 cases(6.3%) in the MCA An. without significant amplitude change had new neurologic deficit postoperatively. Conclusion : Based on this study, Intraoperative SSEP monitoring during aneurysm surgery would provide useful information for detecting cerebral ischemia. SSEP response during surgery for MCA An. is more sensitive than ACA An. Otherwise, there were no meaningful difference in rate of false negativity.

• Bulletin of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.439-444
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• 1993

The aerobic oxidation of the Fe(II) complex of 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane, [Fe(cyclam)$(CH_3CN)_2](ClO_4)_2$, in MeCN in the presence of a few drops of $HClO_4$ leads to low spin Fe(III) species [Fe(cyclam)$(CH_3CN)_2](ClO_4)_3$. The Fe(III) cyclam complex is further oxidized in the air in the presence of a trace of water to produce the deep green binuclear bismacrocyclic Fe(II) complex $[Fe_2(C_{20}H_{36}N_8)(CH_3CN)_4](ClO_4)_4{\cdot}2CH_3CN$. The Fe(II) ions of the complex are six-coordinated and the bismacrocyclic ligand is extensively unsaturated. $[Fe_2(C_{20}H_{36}N_8)(CH_3CN)_4](ClO_4)_4{\cdot}2CH_3CN$ crystallizes in the monoclinic space group $P2_1/n$ with a= 13.099 (1) ${\AA}$, b= 10.930 (1) ${\AA}$, c= 17.859 (1) ${\AA}$, ${\beta}$= 95.315 $(7)^{\circ}$, and Z= 2. The structure was solved by heavy atom methods and refined anisotropically to R values of R= 0.0633 and $R_w$= 0.0702 for 1819 observed reflections with F > $4{\sigma}$ (F) measured with Mo K${\alpha}$ radiation on a CAD-4 diffractometer. The two macrocyclic units are coupled through the bridgehead carbons of ${\beta}$-diimitie moieties by a double bond. The double bonds in each macrocycle unit are localized. The average bond distances of $Fe(II)-N_{imine}$, $Fe(II)-N_{amine}$, and $Fe(II)-N_{MeCN}$ are 1.890 (5), 2.001 (5), and 1.925 (6) ${\AA}$, respectively. The complex is diamagnetic, containing two low spin Fe(II) ions in the molecule. The complex shows extremely intense charge transfer band in the near infrared at 868 nm with ${\varepsilon}$= 25,000 $M^{-1}cm^{-1}$. The complex shows a one-electron oxidation wave at +0.83 volts and two one-electron reduction waves at -0.43 and-0.72 volts vs. Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The complex reacts with carbon monoxide in $MeNO_2$ to form carbonyl adducts, whose $v_{CO}$ value (2010 $cm^{-1}$) indicates the ${\pi}$-accepting property of the present bismacrocyclic ligand.

• Korean Journal of Radiology
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.1119-1129
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• 2018

Objective: To compare the image quality of low-tube-voltage and low-iodine-concentration-contrast-medium (LVLC) computed tomography urography (CTU) with iterative reconstruction (IR) with that of conventional CTU. Materials and Methods: This prospective, multi-institutional, randomized controlled trial was performed at 16 hospitals using CT scanners from various vendors. Patients were randomly assigned to the following groups: 1) the LVLC-CTU (80 kVp and 240 mgI/mL) with IR group and 2) the conventional CTU (120 kVp and 350 mgI/mL) with filtered-back projection group. The overall diagnostic acceptability, sharpness, and noise were assessed. Additionally, the mean attenuation, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and figure of merit (FOM) in the urinary tract were evaluated. Results: The study included 299 patients (LVLC-CTU group: 150 patients; conventional CTU group: 149 patients). The LVLC-CTU group had a significantly lower effective radiation dose ($5.73{\pm}4.04$ vs. $8.43{\pm}4.38mSv$) compared to the conventional CTU group. LVLC-CTU showed at least standard diagnostic acceptability (score ${\geq}3$), but it was non-inferior when compared to conventional CTU. The mean attenuation value, mean SNR, CNR, and FOM in all pre-defined segments of the urinary tract were significantly higher in the LVLC-CTU group than in the conventional CTU group. Conclusion: The diagnostic acceptability and quantitative image quality of LVLC-CTU with IR are not inferior to those of conventional CTU. Additionally, LVLC-CTU with IR is beneficial because both radiation exposure and total iodine load are reduced.

• Structural Engineering and Mechanics
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• v.78 no.1
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• pp.41-52
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• 2021

Inelastic static pushover analysis has been used in the academic-research widely for seismic analysis of structures. Nowadays, the variety pushover analysis methods have been developed, including Modal pushover, Adaptive pushover, and Cyclic pushover, in which some weaknesses of the conventional pushover method have been rectified. In the conventional pushover analysis method, the effects of cumulative growth of cracks are not considered on the reduction of strength and stiffness of RC members that occur during earthquake or cyclic loading. Therefore, the Cyclic Pushover Analysis Method (CPA) has been proposed. This method is a powerful technique for seismic evaluation of regular reinforced concrete buildings in which the first mode of them is dominant. Since the bridges have different structures than buildings, their results cannot necessarily be attributed to bridges, and more research is needed. In this study, a cyclic pushover analysis with four loading protocols (suggested by valid references) by the Opensees software was conducted for seismic evaluation of two regular reinforce concrete bridges. The modeling method was validated with the comparison of the analytical and experimental results under both cyclic and dynamic loading. The failure mode of the piers was considered in two-mode of flexural failure and also a flexural-shear failure. Along with the cyclic analysis, conventional analysis has been studied. Also, the nonlinear incremental dynamic analysis (IDA) method has been used to examine and compare the results of pushover analyses. The time history of 20 far-field earthquake records was used to conduct IDA. After analysis, the base shear vs. displacement in the middle of the deck was drawn. The obtained results show that the cyclic pushover analysis method is able to evaluate an accurate seismic behavior of the reinforced concrete piers of the bridges. Based on the results, the cyclic pushover has proper convergence with IDA. Its accuracy was much higher than the conventional pushover, in which the bridge piers failed in flexural-shear mode. But, in the flexural failure mode, the results of each two pushover methods were close approximately. Besides, the cyclic pushover method with ACI loading protocol, and ATC-24 loading protocol, can provided more accurate results for evaluating the seismic investigation of the bridges, specially if the bridge piers are failed in flexural-shear failure mode.

• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.71-76
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• 2012

Objectives : The purpose of this study was to evaluate the neuroprotective effect of Pueraria lobata extract on focal cerebral ischemia in mice. Methods : Focal cerebral ischemia was induced by occlusion of the right middle cerebral artery using the intraluminal filament model. ICR male mice underwent 90 minutes of middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAo) followed by 24 hours of reperfusion. Mice were administered Pueraria lobata extract orally at the dose of 300mg/kg just prior to reperfusion. Rotarod test and balance beam test were practiced to assess sensory-motor function 23 hours after MCAo. In rotarod test, the latency to fall on the accelerating rotarod was recorded for 5 min. In balance beam test, the score was graded according to number of slips and latency to cross. The infarct volume was measured 24 hours after MCAo using 2% 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) staining. Results : Pueraria lobata extract treated group showed significant reduction in infarct volume by 27.3% compared to control group (p<0.05). In rotatod test, it also showed significant extension of latency time compared to control group ($67.82{\pm}15.08$ vs. $5.62{\pm}1.06$, p<0.001). In contrast to performance in rotarod test, that in balance beam test did not improve with Pueraria lobata extract treatment. Conclusions : We conclude that Pueraria lobata extract has a significant neuroprotective effect and reduces damage of sensory-motor function in MCAo model. These findings suggest that Pueraria lobata could be a potent neuroprotective agent.