• Reproductive and Developmental Biology
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.127-133
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• 2008

The objective of this study was two folds: to investigate the relationship between paternal identification rate and sperm quality parameters such as motility and sperm chromatin structure assay after heterospermic insemination; to see if mutual complement between tests and development of useful technique to enhance the fertility in artificial insemination. In individual boar's fertilizing ability, 3 high fertility boars showed significantly high fertility (p<0.05) compared to 3 low fertility boars, but there was no difference in litter size between two groups. Sperm motility test in pooled and individual semen using computer assisted sperm analysis (CASA) revealed that no significant difference among boars. The high fertile boar showed tendency of low %Red (High red fluorescence/green+red fluorescence) in sperm chromatin structure assay (SCSA) but paternal identification rate from piglets did not differ after heterospermic insemination. The correlation coefficient between individual or pooled semen function test and farrowing rates were well correlated as follows: %Red with litter size (r= - 0.53, p=0.03); %Red with paternal identification rates (r=-0.51, p=0.03); paternal identification rates with litter size (r=0.57, p=0.02). These results indicate that sperm chromatin structure assay and sperm quality parameter test in pooled semen are useful method to predict and evaluate the fertilizing capacity after heterospermic insemination in boars.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.14 no.12
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• pp.7737-7741
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• 2013

Background: Human papilloma virus infection is associated with genesis and malignant potential of cervical cancer. E6 and E7 oncogens are known to bind to p53 and retinoblastoma gene products, abrogating their functions as tumor suppressors, leading to an abnormal cell cycle machinery. Roles of the p53 homolog p63 have also been postulated, E6 expression leading to TAp63b degradation allowing anchorage independent growth. Molecular studies correlated with clinicopathological factors are important to determine prognosis and treatment strategies, but results have been controversial and need to be clarified. Aim: To investigate expression of p53 and p63 in cervical squamous cell carcinomas in correlation with age, FIGO staging, morphology, and cancer cell proliferation. Materials and Methods: Expression of p53 and p63 immunohistochemical staining in a total of 56 paraffin-embedded tissues of cervical squamous cell carcinomas from Dr. Sardjito General Hospital Indonesia, was evaluated for correlation with clinicopathological parameters. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the percentage of p53 and p63 expression with patient age, FIGO staging and morphology and to compare mean p53 and p63 expression. The Spearman correlation test was applied to correlate p53 and p63 expression with that of Ki-67. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: There were significant associations between p53 expression with age (p=0.019) and FIGO staging (p=0.026), but not with with morphology or Ki-67 expression. There were no links between p63 expression and age, morphology, FIGO staging or Ki-67. Conclusions: This study indicated that p53 has a prognostic value in cervical squamous cell carcinomas given the relation with FIGO staging.

• Journal of Pharmaceutical Investigation
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.29-33
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• 1990

Plasma and saliva concentrations of acetaminophen (AAP) were determined at various time points by HPLC after oral administration of AAP tablets (AAP 500 mg) to four healthy male Korean subjects. Saliva concentrations (S) of AAP were significantly correlated with plasma AAP concentrations (P). The S/P ratio of AAP was calculated to be 1.05 (r =0.944, $p<10^{-6}$) for all the data points from the subjects. It showed a little intersubject variation and ranged from 0.89 to 1.46 in each subject. Bioavailability parameters such as AUC, $C_{max}$ and $T_{max}$ which are usually obtained from the plasma concentration data will be predictable approximately by saliva concentration data. Saliva seems to be very convinient and useful samples for the preliminary studies of bioavailability and bioequivalence of AAP preparations, since it can be collected frequently without any painful venipuncture to the subjects, that is inevitable in plasma sampling. Evaluation of the bioavailability of a preparation by saliva samples will reduce the cost, time and safety risk greatly in developing a new drug delivery system for AAP.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.145-148
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• 2014

There was a research on the prolongation of solar cycle 23 by the solar cyclic variation of solar, interplanetary geomagnetic parameters by Oh & Kim (2013). They also suggested that the sunspot number cannot typically explain the variation of total solar irradiance any more. Instead of the sunspot number, a new index is introduced to explain the degree of solar activity. We have analyzed the frequency of sunspot appearance, the length of solar cycle, and the rise time to a solar maximum as the characteristics of solar cycle. Then, we have examined the predictability of solar activity by the characteristics of preceding solar cycle. We have also investigated the hemispheric variation of flare index for the periods that the leading sunspot has the same magnetic polarity. As a result, it was found that there was a good correlation between the length of preceding solar cycle and spotless days. When the length of preceding solar cycle gets longer, the spotless days increase. It is also shown that the shorter rise time to a solar maximum is highly correlated with the increase of sunspots at a solar maximum. Therefore, the appearance frequency of spotless days and the length of solar cycle are more significant than the general sunspot number as an index of declining solar activity. Additionally, the activity of flares leads in the northern hemisphere and is stronger in the hemisphere with leading sunspots in positive polarity than in the hemisphere with leading sunspots in negative polarity. This result suggests that it is necessary to analyze the magnetic polarity's effect on the flares and to interpret the period from the solar maximum to solar maximum as the definition of solar cycle.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.3872-3878
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• 2014

In this study, the dynamic load transfer function, which is necessary for analyzing a pile installed by a vibro hammer, was determined by comparing the results of the analyses and instrumented tests. The static load transfer function was modeled by the Ramberg-Osgood model through an analytical method before determining the dynamic load transfer curve. The parameters of the Ramberg-Osgood model were correlated with the N value of the standard penetration test and average values of the correlation coefficient were 0.97 for the shaft load transfer and 0.98 for the base load transfer. The dynamic load transfer function was simulated using the modified Ramberg-Osgood model. The results showed that there were little differences in the characteristics of dynamic load transfer between the results of the measurement and prediction.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.5 no.6
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• pp.520-526
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• 2011

Folate deficiency and hyperhomocysteinemia are found in most patients with alcoholic liver disease. Oxidative stress is one of the most important mechanisms contributing to homocysteine (Hcy)-induced tissue injury. However it has not been examined whether exogenous administration of folic acid attenuates oxidative stress and hepatic toxicity. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vivo effect of folic acid supplementation on oxidative stress and hepatic toxicity induced by chronic ethanol consumption. Wistar rats (n = 32) were divided into four groups and fed 0%, 12%, 36% ethanol, or 36% ethanol plus folic acid (10 mg folic acid/L) diets. After 5 weeks, chronic consumption of the 36% ethanol diet significantly increased plasma alanine transaminase (ALT) (P < 0.05) and aspartate transaminase (AST) (P < 0.05), triglycerides (TG) (P < 0.05), Hcy (P < 0.001), and low density lipoprotein conjugated dienes (CD) (P < 0.05) but decreased total radical-trapping antioxidant potential (TRAP) (P < 0.001). These changes were prevented partially by folic acid supplementation. The 12% ethanol diet had no apparent effect on most parameters. Plasma Hcy concentration was well correlated with plasma ALT (r = $0.612^{**}$), AST (r = $0.652^*$), CD (r = $0.495^*$), and TRAP (r = $-0.486^*$). The results indicate that moderately elevated Hcy is associated with increased oxidative stress and liver injury in alcohol-fed rats, and suggests that folic acid supplementation appears to attenuate hepatic toxicity induced by chronic ethanol consumption possibly by decreasing oxidative stress.

• Journal of Nutrition and Health
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.59-67
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• 2009

Lifestyle behaviors including dietary habits are well known to play key roles in bone metabolism. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship among the factors affecting bone mineral density (BMD) including age, anthropometric parameters, lifestyle behaviors, and dietary habits of men aged more than 50 years. Ninety-one men, who visited health promotion center at one of the university medical centers, were divided into two groups according to the BMD: normal and osteopenia. The BMD of femoral neck in the osteopenia group was significantly lower than that of the normal group ($0.77\;{\pm}\;0.28$ vs. $0.98\;{\pm}\;0.08\;g/cm^2$). The proportion of the regular exercisers was significantly lower in the osteopenia group than in the normal group (p = 0.027). In the osteopenia group, the femoral neck BMD was significantly decreased in smokers and coffee drinkers compared to no-smokers and no-coffee drinkers. The femoral neck BMD was increased among those who consume breakfast and beans and bean products more frequently and those with a greater meal regularity. In the normal group, the lumbar spine BMD was significantly increased among those with frequent consumption of beans and bean products. The lumbar spine BMD was significantly correlated with exercise (r = 0.263), and the femoral neck BMD with weight (r = 0.284), BMI (r = 0.324), relative body weight (r = 0.294), exercise (r = 0.269) and frequency of beans and bean products consumption (r = 0.216). These results indicate that lifestyle behaviors and dietary habits play important roles in maintaining optimum bone health in the middle-aged men.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.22 no.7
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• pp.1183-1191
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• 2000

Operating conditions for reduction of membrane fouling in treatment of dissolved organic matter by UF membrane process were investigated by pilot-scale plant using various operating conditions. As inlet pressure increased, increament of transmembrane pressure and flux decline were faster. The reason was due to the increase in adsorption of dissolved organic matter and the development of cake layer compression on the membrane surface. When efficient pressure (the difference of pressure between backwash and transmembrane pressures) was high, small amount of pollutant was retained on the membrane surface. When backwash was frequently conducted, low concentration of pollutant was maintained in recycling water. Therefore, backwash could be efficiently conducted with high efficient pressure and high frequency. Fouling rate was correlated with backwash and inlet pressures, recovery rate and cumulative permeated volume. Among the operating parameters backwash pressure was most closely related to fouling rate and inlet pressure was next to backwash pressure. It seems that the fouling was strongly related to pressure which leads to the cake layer compression and adsorption of dissolved organic matter.

• Journal of Astronomy and Space Sciences
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• v.30 no.2
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• pp.79-82
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• 2013

We present the Hilbert-Huang transform (HHT) analysis on the quasi-periodic modulation of SMC X-1. SMC X-1, consisting of a neutron star and a massive companion, exhibits superorbital modulation with a period varying between ~40 d and ~65 d. We applied the HHT on the light curve observed by the All-Sky Monitor onboard Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) to obtain the instantaneous frequency of the superorbital modulation of SMC X-1. The resultant Hilbert spectrum is consistent with the dynamic power spectrum while it shows more detailed information in both the time and frequency domains. According to the instantaneous frequency, we found a correlation between the superorbital period and the modulation amplitude. Combining the spectral observation made by the Proportional Counter Array onboard RXTE and the superorbital phase derived in the HHT, we performed a superorbital phase-resolved spectral analysis of SMC X-1. An analysis of the spectral parameters versus the orbital phase for different superorbital states revealed that the diversity of $n_H$ has an orbital dependence. Furthermore, we obtained the variation in the eclipse profiles by folding the All Sky Monitor light curve with orbital period for different superorbital states. A dip feature, similar to the pre-eclipse dip of Her X-1, can be observed only in the superorbital ascending and descending states, while the width is anti-correlated with the X-ray flux.

• Proceedings of the KWS Conference
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• 2002.10a
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• pp.384-389
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• 2002

This study was aimed to evaluate the weldability and optimize the welding conditions for flash butt welding of 780MPa grade steel applied to the automotive bumper reinforcement. And then the relationship between the welding conditions and the joint performance relating specifically to coil-joining steel would be established. The effect of welding conditions between flashing and upsetting process was elucidated. Microstructure observation of the joint indicated that the decarburized band was mainly changed with upsetting process. Width of HAZ was also related to the upsetting conditions rather than the flashing conditions. Generally maximum hardness at HAZ was correlated with $C_{eq}$ of steel and the empirical relationship was obtained to estimate the HAZ properties. Tensile elongation at the joint was usually decreased with increasing the initial clamping distance. Investigation of fracture surface after tensile and bending tests reveal that the origin of cracking at the joint was oxide inclusions composed of $SiO_2$, MnO, $Al_2$ $O_3$, and/or FeO. The amount of inclusions was dependent on the composition ratio of Mn/Si in steel. If this ratio was above 4, the amount of inclusions was low and then the resistance to cracking at the joint was enough to maintain the joint performance. It was obtained that the flashing process influenced the conditions for the energy input to establish uniform or non-uniform molten layer, while the upsetting conditions influenced the joint strength. Heat input variable during flashing process was also discussed with the joint properties.